Don't You Love Me?
by ShatteredMirrorReflection
Summary: Vera Crane hates her father, Dr. Jonathan Crane. After running away when she was five, she started a new life. But now Jonathan is back with unclear motives. Vera is no longer helpless. But can she overcome Scarecrow? Or will she once again be at the mercy of her father?
1. Prolgue

The little girl walked sat on the couch in, her eyes bloodshot, her cheeks puffy. The rogues, all but one in particular, looked at her with pity. They all clearly see the bruises on her little arms and other physical signs of abuse, but they don't know what to do. She sits there crying, head in her hands, not knowing what to do. She's only five years old.

"Vera, will you stop acting so immature? Stop crying." Jonathan Crane snapped harshly at her.

Vera looked up, her eyes still red as more tears washed down her face. It's uncontrollable. She's only five.

"Sorry, Daddy." Her words are shaky and thick with grief.

"Don't call me that." Jonathan said, getting up and walking towards the crying girl. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?"

Vera cowered in fear away from her father as he walked menacingly toward her. Two Face took pity on her and tried to intervene before Jonathan could hurt her. Out of the rogues, Two Face was the closest to Vera. She was the daughter he never had.

"Crane, don't." he said from his seat.

Jonathan turned and sneered at him and turned back to his whimpering daughter. Two face got up and stood between them.

"That's enough, Crane."

His words held power and authority. Jonathan was no physical match for Harvey/Two Face. He stalked back to his seat fuming. Harvey sat down next to Vera and held her in his arms, trying to calm her down. Jonathan watched, absolutely livid. Hate burned in his eyes.

After he had had enough, he walked briskly towards Vera, grabbed her arm, and dragged her away from Harvey. He dragged her with an iron grip out of the room.

From outside, all they could hear were the child's fearful screams. She was at the mercy of her heartless father and his alter ego, Scarecrow. No one could help her now.

"Daddy, no!"


	2. Chapter 1

"Daddy?" Vera's tiny voice asked. As usual, her voice was thick with tears and she was crying.

Jonathan glared at her from across the room. He hated when she called him that. Jonathan Crane had no use for a daughter. He wasn't supposed to be a father. Maybe if he acted the way he did, Vera would just run away and his problem would be gone. No such luck. Yet, at least.

When he was a child, Jonathan's father treated him just as terribly as he treated Vera. When he was around, which was rarely. At least Vera even had her father around. That was more than he ever got. Why should she get any better than what he had?

"Daddy?" Vera called again.

"What?" he barked at her, making everyone in the room flinch.

"What did I do?" she whimpered, her voice shaking.

Jonathan was calm, completely calm. No emotions whatsoever. He turned to her and answered her question.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Her father's words chilled her to the bone. Even though for once he wasn't yelling at her, this was somehow worse. Somehow, it was scarier.

Jonathan's ice blue eyes bore into her soul, picking apart every aspect of her mind. He loved her fear more than anyone's. She deserved it most of all.

"Vera, baby, will you come here for a minute?" he asked, still calm. He seemed almost happily calm. Which scared her even more.

Everyone in the room was frozen. They knew what was going to happen.

Vera got up and walked toward Jonathan. He held his hand out for her to take. She did, not knowing what was going to happen next. If she did, she would turn and run. She would never turn back.

He brought the girl down to the basement, where he worked on his toxin.

"Sit right there, sweetie." Jonathan said and pointed to a chair.

She did what she was told without a word. Maybe he could see how much she wanted him to love her and be proud of her.

He didn't bother to use the straps to hold her down to the chair. He knew she would stay there no matter what.

Jonathan turned to his daughter, a creepy smile planted on his face.

"Would you like to see my mask?"

He sprayed the toxin into her face and she screamed. Scarecrow chuckled darkly and waited a few minutes to ask her the next question.

"What do you see, Vera?" he asked.

"THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!"

"What's everywhere, Vera?"

"THEYRE ALL OVER YOU, DADDY! THEY'RE ON ME TOO!"

"Vera, I'm going to ask one more time. Whats everywhere?"

"SAVE ME DADDY! PLEASE!"

Vera clawed at her face and arms and legs but remained in the seat. She was covered in blood everywhere she scratched. She took Scarecrow's hand and clawed at his arm and hand until it bled. Jonathan made a mental note to clean up after.

After a while, Vera went limp. She looked like a doll. Her eyes were barely open.

Jonathan looked at her with distaste. The thing he really hated about her was that she reminded him of himself. There was no denying it. She was the spitting image of her with wavy, dark brown hair and incredibly thin. But she was tiny, and very short. The one thing she inherited from her mother. He didn't know who that was either. He was a bit of a heartthrob when he first moved to Gotham when he was 18. That was right after he graduated high school...

It was too early to tell if Vera inherited his brains, but he didn't care either way. It didn't matter to him. Even if she did have his brains, he would never love her. She was too much like him to deserve any better than what he had. If she did prove to be better, she would have to work every grueling hour for it like he did. Maybe then she would learn her lesson that love isn't just handed to you on a silver platter automatically. Even when that love came directly from your father. Especially when that love came directly from your father. But there was no love here. Not now, not ever. She could never earn it no matter how hard she tried.

"What do you see, Vera?"

"Spiders."

"What do you fear, Vera?"

"Spiders."

Vera's eyes closed as she sank into unconsciousness. He went to his notebook and wrote down the results of his favorite, by far, experiment.

He heard a faint moan of pain in the corner of the room. Brushing it off, he returned to his work.

"Daddy, aren't you proud of me?"

"For what?"

"Listening to you."

"No."

"Daddy, don't you love me?"

"No."

**A/N: Remind me to think of a better name for this than Author's Note haha**

**This is the official first chapter of Daddy, Don't You Love Me? Last chapter was a prologue. I will give a shout out to anyone who reviews. So please review! It makes me happy! :)**

**So, poor Vera. Jonathan is a meanie pants. He'll get what's coming to him. In a chapter or so, it will be her later in life. This is just setting up Vera's situation and past so you understand it as if it were happening in the present. In later chapters she will be 13. **

**I hope you enjoy the story so far! Tell me what you think. I'll try to update as much as I can but sometimes I get busy. But school gets out on Monday so that shouldn't be too much of a problem! **

**-Harley**

**Shout Outs:**

**Unquestionably Unhinged**

**Thanks for reviewing! :)**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or anything besides Vera. Even though I am Batman, I should own myself but DC Comics owns me... Just kidding. I own nothing except Vera.**

Today had been a good day. A surprisingly, unusually good day.

Joker was playing with Vera in the living room of he hideout while Ivy and Two Face watched from he couch. Joker was trying his hardest to make Vera laugh and smile, which, under the grim circumstances, was a rare occurrence.

"Why so serious?" he asked, smiling.

Vera laughed, too. She thought it was funny, the way he said it. Like Two Face, Joker had a special bond with Vera.

"Why so serious?" he said again, sending Vera into a fit of hysterical giggles.

Of course, Joker would never ever hurt Vera. He usually said "Why so serious?" to his next victim. But Vera wasn't a victim. He just likes to make her laugh. God knows she needs it, deserves it.

Joker lunged at Vera. He started tickling her ribs and neck. It there is one thing about Vera you need to know, it's that she's very ticklish.

Vera laughed like a maniac, unable to suppress her squeals and giggles. Ivy smiled lightly from the couch.

Jonathan was outside but he could see the scene from where he was. Annoyance tugged at his insides. But it was jealousy that took its toll on him. It ate away his cold heart. In some small way, he wished that he could have moments like that with his daughter. But soon he was reminded of his reasons.

Jonathan could see Vera laughing as Joker tickled her under her arms. Fury burned within him. He walked straight into the living room and glared at the laughing pair.

He walked straight over to Vera and grabbed a fistful of her long wavy hair. He dragged her from the living room and straight down the stairs of the basement. All the while, Vera screamed in pain. How could such a good day, turn bad so fast?

"Daddy?" Vera whimpered.

"Listen here. You are no daughter of mine. I don't love you."

"But I love you."

"Well I don't love you."

Hearing this tore Vera's heart to pieces. Which is understandable. Coming from your own father, that has to hurt.

Vera always knew he didn't love her but he never said it. To her, that meant there was hope. Now that e said it aloud, the deal was sealed. He didn't love her, he never would. Now she new. She would have to accept it.

But then, Vera got mad. After all these years, the anger at her father for his ruthless behavior had finally broke out. She would finally stand up to her father.

"Yeah? Well I love Joker better than you!" she shouted, stomping her foot.

"Well maybe he should be your father, since you adore him so much."

"But I can't. I'm your daughter. I even look like you, Daddy."

"But you have Joker's smile..."

Vera looked at Jonathan in confusion. She didn't have Joker's smile, she wasn't related to him. But then she remembered his scars. His big ugly scars that made him look like he was smiling all the time.

Jonathan pulled out a knife. A small one, like the one Joker used against his victims. Vera backed up at the sight of his crazed face.

"Why so serious?"

The way her father said it wasn't funny. Not in the least.

He took the knife and carved a smile, not unlike Joker's. She screamed and screamed, opening the wound wider. Blood poured from her face.

When he was done, Jonathan walked away. Just walked away from his dying daughter.

She somehow found the energy to run upstairs where the rogues were all gathered in the living room. They only caught a glimpse of her before she ran out the door.

They were shocked. It was a disturbing sight. Everyone made a move outside to go save her but Jonathan walked in to the room.

"Chase after her and I'll gas the entire place." he calmly threatened.

"You bastard." Two Face growled in anger. Vera was already too far away to catch.

"You have no idea." Jonathan fired back.

Vera was running as fast as she could in the dangerous streets of Gotham at night. Her energy was draining, her face was still bleeding, and she had nowhere to go.

Finally, she just collapsed. In the middle of the sidewalk, she just fell unconscious. Vera was close to dead anyway, the closest she's ever been. She was afraid. Like most children, she was afraid to die.

Batman was around, patrolling Gotham late at night. From the rooftop, he saw someone on the ground. He dropped down to investigate.

And there he found little Vera Crane.

Of course, he didn't know who she was. But he did know she needed help. So he took her in his arms and went as fast as he could to the nearest hospital, his home was too far away.

"Daddy, don't hurt me..." Vera mumbled in her sleep.

Batman felt a pang in his chest. He knew from this se was abused by her father. He knew that her father was the one who did this. Of only he knew who her father was.

"I won't hurt you." he whispered, stroking her hair gently as he rushed into the emergency room.

**A/N: Still need to think of a better name than Author's Note.**

**Hope you liked the chapter, even though it's a little short. I'm tired so this A/N will be short.**

**Vera finally got away! Yay! Ironically, tomorrow is Father's Day, so I think the next chapter could incorporate that. Till next time! (That was dorky xD)**

**-Harley**

**Shout Outs:**

**PsychoSweetHeart**

**Thanks for reviewing! :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I only own Vera...**

_ "Happy Father's Day, Daddy." came a small voice right beside Jonathan._

He looked over and there was Vera, a small piece of paper in her hand. It had two people on it, one male one female. The male was much taller than the female. Jonathan realized that it was a drawing of him and Vera. They were holding hands and smiling, which didn't ever happen. What was this?

"What is this?" he asked, gesturing toward the paper in his hand.

"It's a card. Today's Father's Day, so I thought I'd make you a card to make you smile, like you are in the picture." Vera said, happily.

"Well, do you see me smiling?" he asked, scowling at her.

"No..." Vera answered, her smile faltering.

"You truly are a fool of a child. I don't want this card, I don't want it to be Father's Day. And I most certainly don't want you as a daughter."

"Well I don't want you for a daddy." she whispered under her breath.

"What was that?" he asked. Jonathan knew what she said but he wanted to scare her a little bit.

"Nothing."

He took her arms in vice-like grip. He could just feel the bruises forming.

"What. Did. You. Say?" he asked, his tone deadly.

"Doctah Crane! Doctah Crane, stop!" Harley screamed as she ran in.

His grip became tighter, as Harley could see. She ran over to them and started beating Jonathan with her fists. He still wouldn't let go.  
__

After her futile attempts, Harley gripped onto Jonathan's hair hard. She dragged him out of his chair and along the floor. He let go of Vera and she ran into the corner. 

_Scarecrow began to come out. Harley knew that and dragged Jonathan to the basement door. She threw him down the stairs, closed the door, and locked him down there._

Vera could still hear him through the door.

"YOU DESPICABLE, DISGUSTING, UNGRATEFUL, PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A CHILD! YOU HAVE MORE THAN I EVER DID AND THAT'S ALL YOU DESERVE! YOU UGLY BI-"

Vera Crane, now 13 years old, woke up to someone shaking her. She became fully awake as her last scream died down.

She started hyperventilating as the dream came flooding back to her. It was a memory and a nightmare. She left that life long ago but it didn't stop the memories or the nightmares.

"Vera, you were screaming again." whoever shook her awake said.

"Dick? Is that you?" she asked.

"Yeah, I was worried about you. Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked.

Vera had been taken in by Bruce Wayne shortly after she ran away. He found her in the hospital while Time Drake-Wayne had to go to the hospital for a broken wrist.

"What's the date today?" she asked, still trying to breathe right.

"June 17th."

"Father's Day." she stated plainly and start to cry.

"Come here..." Dick said as he hugged me tight against his chest. All she could do was cry as she remembered all of her useless attempts at having a good Father's Day with Jonathan.

"Let's go get you some water, kay?" he said and got up. Vera stood up, too.

That was his codeword for going to the living room and watching TV for the rest of the night. Of course it was 2 in the morning but it still counted.

They started walking down to the living room. They tried to sneak past Bruce's room as quietly as possible, but Vera made a crying noise and Bruce was immediately at the door.

"Vera, you okay?" he whisper called in the dark.

"Just another nightmare." Dick answered for her.

She squeezed his hand as a thank you. It was impossible for her to speak right now. Finally, Bruce's eyes adjusted to the darkness and he could see the outline of both of them.

"Let me guess, you're gonna go watch some TV downstairs?" Bruce asked, sleepily.

"Yeah, we were planning on it. Vera doesn't want to have another nightmare." Dick said.

_God, Dick is my favorite person ever,_ Vera thought to herself.

"Well, I'm gonna go with you guys. Just to make sure you're okay, Vera." he said.

The trio finally made it to the living room where they all sat down. Dick put on Scooby Doo, they're favorite thing to watch at 2 am.

After a while of watching this, Vera threw herself at Bruce, hugging him tightly. He was startled but hugged her back.

"Happy Father's Day." she said.

"Love you, Vera." he whispered.

"Love you, too, Bruce."

"We Interrupt this program for breaking news." a newscaster on the television says.

"Who interrupts cartoons at 2 am for breaking news?" Dick questioned.

"Gotham?" Bruce tried to answer. They all laughed.

"Some of the most dangerous criminals, Harley Quinn, The Joker, and Two Face, have escaped Arkham Asylum early this morning." the newscaster said.

Vera smiled. She missed her friends.

**A/N: Hope everyone had a wonderful father's Day or just a wonderful day in general. I kind flipped out on my cousins but other than that, it was good. The next chapter will also be Father's Day, I didn't have time to write it however. If you would like to have a character in this story, leave a review or send me a message with**

**Name:**

**Gender:**

**Age**

**Looks:**

**Personality:**

**Additional Info (optional):**

**Vera does not like Father's Day. Can you tell? What'll happen next?**

**See you next time, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!**

**-Harley**

**Shout Outs:**

**PsychoSweetHeart**

**Melanie**

**Thanks for reviewing! ;)**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman**

Dick and Vera walked down the hall of their school, Tim slowly dragging behind with his girlfriend.

"Do they ever stop?" Dick asked.

Vera looked behind her at the affectionate couple.

"I don't think so." she answered, giggling.

"Knock it off, you two! What would Bruce say?" Dick shouted at them. Tim blushed a deep red, his face resembling a tomato. Stephanie just giggled and waved them off.

Suddenly, the bell rang and students rushed to get to homeroom. Tim dragged Stephanie off. Vera gave Dick a hug.

"See you later, big bro."

"See you later, kiddo."

Vera and Dick walked away in the opposite direction. Vera walked slowly, not wanting to go to class. _Maybe I'll skip today,_ she thought._ But what would Bruce think?_

She reluctantly walked into homeroom just in time and sat down in the last available desk, just as the morning announcements came on.

"Good morning everyone. Hope you had a good weekend. It is now Monday. And in addition to that, it is Father's Day. So make sure you thank your dad for everything. Maybe even give him a big hug. Just show him you love him and you care. Every father appreciates that..." the announcements trailed off.

Vera didn't even bother to listen the rest. All she could think of was her father and his fear toxin that he spent so many precious years creating. Her mind only registered his sneering face, all of the hits, the bruises, the cuts, and the many, many tears.

She could hear screaming in the distance. Vera was so dizzy, she could barely realize the screams were her own. She didn't care. All she could think about was her dad.

_ Dad... Daddy... Scarecrow..._

Vera was so overwhelmed that right in the classroom, with one last scream, she heaved and fell to the floor, unconscious.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Batman. I only own Vera Crane :)**

Vera's head was pounding as she opened her eyes. As she looked around, she realized she was in a hospital room. Violet, her best friend, was sitting on the edge, sitting and staring blankly at the wall.

"Violet? What happened?" Vera asked, sitting up groggily.

"We were in homeroom and the announcements came on, then you were screaming. You fainted and hit your head. We called 911 and here we are." Violet explained. "You've been muttering about something in your sleep but I couldn't tell what."

"Oh okay... Where's Bruce? Dick? Hell, where's Tim even?" Vera asked anxiously.

It wasn't a secret that Tim and Vera weren't exactly close. But they weren't at each others throats 24/7 either.

"I just called them. They should be here in a few minutes. You should sleep until they get here You hit your head pretty hard."

Vera slowly laid down again and drifted off to sleep. But not before muttering, "Thanks, Violet."

"What are best friends for?"

**MEANWHILE AT WAYNE ENTERPRISES**

"Mr. Wayne, you have a phone call from someone named Violet Thompson. It's urgent." the secretary nervously interrupted the meeting going on.

"Thank you, Miss Sanchez." Bruce replied, easily hiding his nervousness. He recognized Violet as the name of Vera's best friend.

"Hello, Bruce Wayne speaking."

"Mr. Wayne. It's about Vera, she's in the hospital."

And that was all he needed to hear until he was racing to school to pick up Dick and Tim to go make sure Vera was okay.

As Bruce, Tim, and Dick walked into Vera's hospital room, they heard a faint, "Scarecrow, Scarecrow..." coming from her lips.

Violet saw the three and stood up. "I'll give you some privacy. She has a concussion, nothing too serious."

"Thank you, Violet." Bruce said solemnly.

"Thanks." Dick and Tim said simultaneously.

"No problem. Can you tell Vera that I hope she gets better soon? My mom's gonna be here to pick me up in a few minutes."

"Sure thing. See you at school!" Dick said, smiling despite the grim atmosphere of the hospital.

Violet left the room and turned left down the hall. Bruce closed the door silently and sat on the end of the bed, Tim and Dick following suit.

After a while, the three heard a voice again.

"It smells too clean in here..." Vera mumbled, smiling.

"Well considering what your room looks like, um yeah." Tim said, smirking a little.

"Vera!" Bruce and Dick exclaimed, hurrying over to give her a bear hug.

"Still too clean in here." she mumbled through the hug. "Even though_ you_" she said, referring to Dick "Are sweaty from gym. Yuck. Do you even shower?"

They pulled back from the hug and Dick feigned hurt.

"Well, I don't want to get an STD! We don't know what goes on in those showers when we're not in them..." he said, defending himself.

A knock on the door was heard. A second later, a doctor stepped in.

"Mr. Wayne?" he asked.

Bruce got up and walked outside with the doctor, while Tim, Dick, and Vera talked for a little while.

"Has Vera been sleeping well lately?" the doc asked. "That may have been why she fainted."

"Her sleeping habits are okay for the most part." Bruce answered.

"Mr. Wayne, has Vera been having any nightmares lately?"

"Yeah, she has. I don't know what to do to stop them."

"Her teacher said she screamed Scarecrow before fainting, have you heard about this Scarecrow before?"

"She never liked Scarecrows ever since I adopted her at age 5. I never really thought any of it. But when I got here, she was muttering that in her sleep. She looked like she was having a nightmare."

"I'd like to recommend a psychologist or therapy, anything to help with the nightmares and her fear of Scarecrows."

"Sure thing."

"Come this way so I can give you some reccomendations."

_Vera? Therapist?_ Bruce thought._ Can't say I'm surprised because of her past..._

Bruce walked back into the room to find Dick giving Tim a piggy back ride who was giving Vera a piggy back ride. They all laughed and Bruce chuckled at the siblings.

"Vera, I need to talk to you." he said.

She hopped off Tim's back. "Yeah?"

"You're going to be going to a psychologist. Starting next week."

Vera was horrified. She couldn't open up to anyone like that. Her father was a psychologist and look how he turned out. Wearing a potato sack and trying to unleash people's greatest fears.

"You have got to be kidding, Bruce."

"I'm not. You have to go. No arguments on this one, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good girl, let's get you home."

Vera, Dick, Tim, and Bruce got ready to take Vera home after that long, eventful, and exhausting day.

**A/N: Sorry for the long absence of mine. Things got a little hectic with my cousin in town. But I'm back. It's summer, and I have a new laptop to write on so I should be updating more often. I also apologize that the last chapter was so short. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.**

**I have a bunch of ideas as to where this story is going, I'm gonna try to update fast so I can get to my favorite parts that I have planned out.**

**As for the people who have left reviews with characters, So far, I will use all of them, but it might take time to figure out how to incorporate each into the story. I do have some ideas. In fact, Violet is a character made by deppgirl95. **

**Severus-Snape-Forever-Young: Ivy will be coming in later in the story, I have a few ideas for her later on :)**

**Hope you liked the chapter and story so far, please leave a review if you see fit. Thanks :)**

**-Harley**

**Sorry I didn't thank people for reviewing last time, I was in a hurry to update and didn't have much time. So sorry. So without further ado, here are the shoutouts for the last two chapters :)**

**Zeny**

**deppgirl95**

**Severus-Snape-Forever-Young**

**Thanks for reviewing! :)**


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Vera. Miss Napier owns Violet.**

Dr. Jonathan Crane walked swiftly down the hall of the asylum he now worked at. Smiths Grove Asylum was two hours away from Gotham. He had been swiftly moving up in work positions, even though he had only been working there for a few months. Soon, he would be the head director, just like back at Arkham.

The asylum was a good size, and Jonathan got to work with all kinds of patients, young old, and not just the criminally insane. In addition to the inmates, there are also therapy sessions for people who didn't live in the asylum full time. Those were the most interesting.

The people that ran Smiths Grove Asylum were exceptionally stupid. There was no background check. They didn't have a clue about Jonathan's fear toxin. Well, you know what they say, ignorance is bliss.

"Dr. Crane!"

The voice made him jump, but he collected himself and turned around. There was Dr. Blanche. She quickly made her way over to him to let him know the news she had in store for him. He had been talking about this the other day.

"Hello, Dr. Blanche. How can I assist you?" he said, straightening himself up.

"Well, we are going to have a new patient for weekly therapy sessions. I decided since you've been wanting a new patient to help, that you should treat her." Dr. Blanche said

"Well thank you very much. It'll be refreshing to see a new face around here." Dr. Crane said, faking a smile.

"I'll e-mail you her files right away." she said. "But I have to run or I'll be late for a session. Just thought I'd let you know."

"I appreciate it. Thank you." he said, dismissively.

Finally, Dr. Blanche left. Jonathan sighed. That wretched woman could be such a bother sometimes.

So, Jonathan went right on his way to his office to go over the new patient's file. Oddly, he was excited. Things were getting too routine and boring. There needed to be something to spice things up. Hopefully, the new patient would do just that.

_Maybe she already has,_ Jonathan thought as he looked at the file.

_Name: Vera Wayne_

Jonathan thought of his own "daughter" whom shared the first name of this girl and a last name that rhymed. _How strange, _he thought.

_Age: 13_

_Wouldn't Vera be thirteen no,_ Jonathan asked himself.

_DOB: August 29th, 1998. _

Jonathan rubbed his chin for a moment, thinking deeply about when Vera's birthday was. _I don't think I ever really cared to learn that little brat's birthday, _he thought.

After reading the rest of the file, he deducted there was a fifty-fifty chance that this new patient was his daughter, Vera. Of course, he was thrilled, he would be able to experiment on her, just as he did on his other patients. And since he hated her before the experiments, it would be a lot more satisfying.

_But I mustn't get my hopes up, _Jonathan thought to himself, _I'm not even completely sure that it's Vera yet._

Her sessions were to be once every week on Wednesday, which just happened to be tomorrow. What a coincidence. But Jonathan couldn't wait, he was already thinking of all the possible ways he could hurt his daughter. He needed revenge, she had escaped him. No one escapes him, not now, not ever. Except Vera, who had already corrupted his life, just by existing. Of course, it was solved when she ran away, but he was really mad at himself. For letting her go without a fight. That's what he was really mad about.

_I'll get my revenge, my daughter. And you'll be begging to die when I'm only halfway done with you. Of course, I might kill you, but then again, maybe I'll make you suffer._

Vera sat on the couch, having an intense staring contest with Tim. She always won these, but she did lose on rare occasions. Just like this one.

Vera could feel her eyes water, they stung so bad. But she couldn't give up until she had to. Tim was holding strong, and she was getting worried. Her eyes hurt so much. Finally, they hurt so much that she had to blink.

Tim looked at her with incredulous eyes. "I just won..."

"That you did, brother."

"DAD! DAD! I BEAT VERA IN A STARING CONTEST! THE DAY HAS FINALLY COME!" Tim shouted, loudly.

Bruce walked in. "Congratulations, would you like me to inform the press?"

"HELL YEAH I DO!"

"NO YOU DON'T!" Vera piped in.

Vera walked into the kitchen, getting a headache from Tim's yelling. Bruce walked in after her.

"You ready for therapy tomorrow?" he asked.

"Do I have to go?" she whined.

"It's only two hours away, but we do have to get up early tomorrow. It's at a nice institution called Smiths Grove."

"Fine."

"Fine?"

"Absolutely not."

**A/N: And the plot thickens...**

**Hope this chapter isn't too short, I'm in a hurry to get it out. I kind of had writer's block so yeah, but then I had this great idea. I can't wait to write and post the next chapter.**

**So what do you think? Leave a review and let me know!**

**Hope you like it. Until next time, same bat time, same bat channel**

**-Harley**

**ShoutOuts:**

**xmudblood**

**Zeny**

**Miss Napier**

**Thanks for reviewing! :)**


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Batman. :(**

"Come on, Vera." Bruce said, pulling on Vera's hand. He was trying to get her into the Lamborghini to take her to therapy.

"No. I am completely fine. No nightmares or anything. I actually slept last night." she said, with a huge smile. "See, I'm fine!"

"What do you mean by you actually slept?" he asked, suspiciously.

At that moment, there was a loud bang coming from the mansion. Bruce's attention wasn't on Vera for less than a second. However, Vera took advantage of it and ran off towards the mansion. Without hesitation, he ran after her.

Vera knew she wouldn't be able to make it to her room. But she did know where could go.

So, once she got into the manor, she ran straight for the kitchen. And straight for Dick.

"Save me!" Vera screamed as she jumped on him. He caught her small figure just as Bruce ran in.

"Vera, let's go!" Bruce said, getting frustrated. She was too stubborn.

Dick mouthed to him something he could barely make out. _Let me talk to her._

So, Bruce nodded. "I'll be in the car when you're ready."

Dick took Vera into the living room and threw her down on the couch.

"Tim, get out." Dick said.

"But I'm watching something." Tim whined.

Dick gave him a glare that scared even Vera. "Out."

Tim couldn't get out of there fast enough. It was almost amusing, you know, if Dick wasn't as scary as he was right then.

"Vera, why won't you cooperate?" he asked, sitting on the couch.

"Because I'm fine."

"No, you're not fine."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No, you're really not."

"Yes, I really really am."

"NO, you're not."

"This is going nowhere, you know that right?"

"Yeah, let's move on."

After a few seconds of silence, Dick broke into the next question.

"Don't you want the nightmares to stop?"

Vera looked down. She didn't want to answer. The nightmares were her only link to her father. Even though he put her through hell, she can't bring herself to truly hate him. She hates him, but she still loves him at the same time.

"Will you go? For me?" Dick asked.

"Dick, why can't you just be on my side for this one? I need you." Vera said. The look on her face broke Dick's heart. She had the best puppy dog eyes.

"And I need you to go to therapy. Please? You're my baby sister. And if I let you keep having nightmares, I'd be a really bad big brother. So please go and get better for me?" he said.

"I don't know."

"Just think, in a few hours, you'll be home. And then we can watch horror movies all night and it'll give you the good kind of nightmares." Dick proposed with a liar.

"Fine, I'll go. For you. And Bruce. But only you guys. Not for me."

"Good girl. Now I'll see you later. Bruce is waiting in the car."

"Bye..."

Vera walked out to the car as slow as she could. Getting into the car, she couldn't even look at Bruce. She was embarrassed by the way she'd acted earlier. She had a really guilty conscience.

"So what happened with Dick?" Bruce asked.

"He got me to go to therapy."

Bruce chuckled. "Obviously, but how did he do it?"

Vera had to smile. "He bribed me."

"With what?"

"Horror movies."

"Of course! I'm not surprised." he said. "What are you going to watch?"

"Guess."

"Friday the 13th?"

"You know it! We always the 3rd one first. It's my favorite." Vera smiled.

"How about Halloween?"

"Probably. We want to see the Rob Zombie remake. Scout Taylor Compton is in it."

"Isn't that the girl who used to date that guy from Black Veil Brides?"

Vera's face got serious. "It scares me how you know that."

"Just forget I said it." Bruce laughed.

"Anyway... I need to make Dick watch Nightmare On Elm Street. Dick will get freaked by that one. And it even fits the situation."

"Tape his reaction for me. Then, we could put it on YouTube." Bruce said.

"He'd kill us!"

"No, he'd kill you!" Bruce winked. "I don't think he'd even try to kill me."

"You'll protect me, right?"

"Maybe, I will, maybe I won't."

"Oh you're the best, Bruce. Thanks so much." Vera said, sarcastically.

"I do try."

Before Vera knew it, they arrived at the asylum. She slumped in her seat.

"We're here." Bruce announced. "It's too late to turn back now, Vera."

"I know, I know." she said, getting out of the car.

They walked into the asylum and up to the front desk.

"My daughter, Vera Wayne is here to see her therapist. We were not informed who that is yet."

"Of course, right this way, please."

Whenever someone said 'Vera Wayne', Vera just wanted to scream out. _CRANE, my last name is Crane._

They reached a door at the end of a long and winding hallway. Vera grew more and nervous as they came near the door. As the receptionist knocked on the door, her heart sped up. _Beat, beat, beat._

"Come in!" and oddly familiar voice said.

"You're patient is here. Vera Wayne."

"Send her in."

"You can go in, okay?"

"I'll be in the waiting room." Bruce said.

Vera nodded. She took a deep breath and opened the door. She couldn't see the doctor's face yet.

"You can just sit down on the couch over there." he said. She couldn't place where she heard that voice before."

She went to sit on the couch and tried to regulate her breathing. SO she turned around to look at the face she'd be seeing once a week from now on.

Staring back at her was her own father, Dr. Jonathan Crane.

"Why hello, Vera. It's been much too long, hasn't it, my child?" he asked with a sadistic smirk on his face.

**A/N: And the plot thickens.**

**So I've been going to this program where I stay at a college for the week. I stay there Monday through Friday, with no internet. I come home on the weekends so I'll update then. There's two more weeks of the program, so yeah, it's not too long.**

**I might be going to see Dark Knight Rises this weekend! So excited! Heard it was really good! SO EXCITED!**

**Hope you like it. I think this is the longest chapter yet. So if you liked it, please review. Thanks for reading! :)**

**-Harley**

**Shoutouts:**

**Hench-Girl95**

**Zeny**

**Thanks for reviewing! :)**


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman. :(**

"Dad."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Besides that one word, Vera couldn't say anything. Nothing made sense. What was he doing here? Why?

"What are the chances, Vera? I see you still have your scars..." Jonathan said.

He walked over to her and ran a thumb over both of the scars that he created when she was five. She forgot to put makeup over the scars on the corners of her mouth. Now, she desperately wished she remembered.

"How old are you now? 13? You've grown, Vera. But are you still as pathetic as you were when you were five?" He taunted.

"I'm free of your binds. You have no power." she replied, solemnly. He was not going to get to her this time.

"Do I?" Jonathan hissed as he wrapped a hand around her throat. He squeezed and Vera started to choke.

"Fuck...you..." Vera gasped. Jonathan had lifted her by the neck off the ground.

She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. What had she gotten herself into? Why did she have to pass out at school? Why did she have to have nightmares? Why couldn't Bruce be her real dad? Why did Jonathan have to be her dad?

"Are you done being a baby, Vera? Are you going to behave?" he asked.

Vera had way too much pride and was way too stubborn. No matter how serious the situation. That could be a good thing and a bad thing. When dealing with Jonathan, it was a bad thing.

Jonathan dropped Vera to the floor. She started to gasp and cough hysterically as the breath was knocked back into her. She hit her head and things started to get fuzzy.

"I'm in control, Vera. I always was." he said. "You can beat me, I'm more than aware of that. But you can't beat Scarecrow. Together, we'll be unstoppable."

"I'll never bow down to you." Vera spat in disgust. She wasn't ready to take any of his crap.

"Yet here we are." he chuckled. "You're here, secluded in my office, where no one can hear you, down on the ground, literally at my feet. Who's at an advantage here?"

The world was spinning. Vera couldn't focus on anything for more than a few seconds. She couldn't concentrate. Everything was getting darker and darker and darker.

"You gonna gas me or what?" she asked, defiantly.

"The day will come. I'm working on a new, better, stronger, more terrifying toxin. And you will be the first to try it." he smirked. "Think of it as an honor."

And that was when she couldn't take it. She spent the rest of the session passed out on the floor of her father's office.

"Vera..." Jonathan tried to shake his daughter awake after the session was almost over almost an hour later.

Vera wouldn't move. She still lay on the ground where he had dropped her almost an hour ago.

"Goddammit, Vera! Get up!" he shouted and pulled her up by her hair.

She hurried out of his office and ran smack dab into Bruce as she entered the waiting room. There was no time to waste getting out of there. She couldn't wait to see Dick and be told that everything was okay. She couldn't wait to get back to the manor and watch movies all night.

Bruce and Vera walked out to the car. They got in, buckled off, and started the long journey home. It was quiet for the most part. Vera was traumatized. She couldn't process that the man she'd spent her entire life fearing, was her psychiatrist. Now, she'd spend every Wednesday locked in a room with him.

"So how was it?" Bruce asked after about an hour of silence.

"Not as bad as I thought." she lied.

"See?"

"Yeah, I guess."

It was a complete and total lie. She couldn't burden him with this. She could handle this. It's not a big deal, right?

Finally, they arrived in Gotham and back to the manor. Vera rushed into the manor and into her room. She just wants to cry this all out for a while.

After a while of crying, she looks in the mirror. All she sees are those ugly scars, the puffiness of her eyes, and the tears on her cheeks.

"You're the weakest person." she tells her reflection.

**A/N: Sorry this is short and terrible. My thoughts are frazzled and I can't think straight. I have to go back to the program tomorrow. We might be doing a paranormal investigation :)**

**I just wanted to get this out before I go back for the week. I'll update on the weekend when I get back. Two more weeks. **

**Hope you liked it!**

**-Harley**

**PS. I'll be doing shout outs next chapter. I'm too scatterbrained and I a rush to do it now. So sorry :(**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman.**

Vera's therapy sessions had been going on for a month and each was surprisingly uneventful. All that happened was Vera would sit there while Dr. Crane did his work and just kept her revved up about how badly his fear toxin would terrify her.

It worked. He really knew how to control the mind, no matter whose it was. He had a way with words. And there was no one in the world who could save her now. No one could save her but herself. Instincts of self preservation were her best chance of survival right now. Her life would depend entirely on herself, her logic, and her instincts.

As far as Vera was concerned. And she definitely felt like it.

The only other time she had felt more alone were the first five years of her life. And even though she was temporarily saved by Bruce and the rest of the family, it was just that. Only temporary. Bruce could only help her to a certain point. Now it was one on one, Vera against Jonathan.

And on top of all that, Vera was slowly becoming less and less aware because of her lack of sleep. The nightmares were becoming more and more frequent. They were also becoming more and more vivid.

Never in her life had she been more afraid to go to sleep. Not after she watched her first horror movie (she watched Halloween one night with Bruce when she was 10), not after someone had almost broken into Wayne Manor, not even after her father had doused her with fear toxin.

Some nights, there was nothing Vera could do except for turn on the television in her room. She and Dick didn't go downstairs anymore. She knew if she did, his life would fall, too. It was almost every night that the nightmares came. If she kept waking him up, his grades would definitely slip drastically. He already kept falling asleep in class and was just barely keeping a C average.

Tonight, Vera turned on the news and there was, you guessed it, Batman.

The news reporter was interviewing someone on their thoughts of the Batman. As far as she could see, all he had to say were negative things. This made her mad. Bruce was a good person that put on that suit to help anyone that needed it. Anybody who talked bad about Batman obviously didn't deserve his help.

She changed the channel to Ghost Adventures, one of her favorite shows. She really liked the theory behind the paranormal. Ghost Adventures really got her interested in it. Plus, Zak Bagans had really good abs.

"Vera?"

Dick's voice made her jump. She hadn't seen him there, she hadn't even heard him. Which was weird because Dick had to have been the clumsiest person ever around the house. In all honesty, it was pretty hilarious a lot of the time. But the thing was, hospital visits were not funny at all. Under any circumstances. Except for that one time...

"Dick? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it is. What are you doing up?" he asked, walking into her room.

"I could say the same thing.."

"I asked you first."

"I asked you second."

"Smart ass."

"Dumb ass."

"Why are you avoiding my question, Vera?"

Vera looked down. She knew she couldn't lie to him. But she couldn't tell him about the nightmares and especially not about her father.

"Vera?"

"Dick, look, we both know something's up. But I can't tell you, not right now at least."

"Vera, please just tell me. It can't be that bad."

"Dick, don't worry. It isn't that bad. I just can't tell you, for really really personal reasons."

Dick looked down and then made an 'o' with his mouth. His eyes were horrified.

"Is it a girl thing?"

"Dick, what the hell? No!"

Vera and Dick looked at each other and started laughing. If you didn;t know, laughter is ten times more uncontrollable at two in the morning.

Tim walked in a few minutes later. He had a scowl on his face and his eyes were visibly heavy with sleep.

"Bruce said to shut up." Tim said, his voice coated with exhaustion.

"So Bruce went to your room, which is farther away than Vera's to tell you to tell us to shut up?" Dick asked, one of his eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"Yeah, so shut up so I can sleep."

"Bruce, Bruce, Bruce..." Vera laughed.

"Sometimes, I wonder how high his IQ really is..." Dick said after Tim had left.

"I think Batman is getting to his head."

"Like he wasn't already."

"Good point, brother."

"Well, night, sister. I am tired."

"Nighty night!" Vera said cheerily. She was really tired but she knew what would happen if she went to sleep. The nightmares would come and she would feel even worse than she did now.

The next morning, Vera was up at the crack of dawn, she was getting ready to go to the dance studio. Dance was her passion and she was depending on it a lot more than usual for the last month. It was the one thing that let her forget about everything else. It really allowed her to let go and just be.

As soon as she got to the studio, she began to warm up. After she was all stretched, the group began to do their regular routines they did to prepare for dance.

Sometime during the routine, Vera went to do a leap. And landed on her foot the wrong way and she went down to the floor. She smashed her knee on the ground. There was a crack in her foot and knee. And she felt it too. Everything stopped. No one moved and no one even breathed. But then someone had the sense to call 911.

All Vera could feel was pain, it wasn't the worst but it definitely didn't feel like a paper cut either. She just had to wait until she could get to the hospital and they would fix the pain then.

Finally, the ambulance to take Vera to the hospital.

They had Bruce and he said to take her to the hospital that was near the asylum. It would be easier for him to take her to therapy if she had to stay there for a few days.

_Really, Bruce? Are you serious?_

They got to the hospital and there Vera lay for hours. They did a bunch of tests and X-rays. The doctor came in with the results of the X-Rays.

"Miss Wayne, it seems you have fractured your knee and broken your foot. I'm afraid this means you will be unable to dance for a length of time.

And there went her last ray of hope.

**A/N: Vera's unlucky, ain't she? I've experienced something similar with dance a little while ago It sucks not to be able to dance. But unfortunately, it happens.**

** I'll be gone for one more week, then I will be updating more frequently. Thank you for ****your patience and I hope you enjoyed. **

**-Harley**

**PS. I saw TDKR and it was AMAZING! I recommend you all go see it. Crane was hilarious in it! XD Also, I'm changing the title of the story to Don't You Love Me? But that will be next chapter.**

**Shout Outs:**

**Zeny**

**Thanks for reviewing! :)**


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman.**

The next few days were so boring, Vera contemplated gouging her eyes out with her own bare hands. However, that would probably just make her hospital stay longer and that would be counterproductive.

She hadn't seen anyone in days. Bruce had work, Dick and Tim had school. They'd all been so piled up with work that none had the time to drive two hours to see Vera in the hospital. However, they had all called every day, so Vera did know they didn't just abandon her.

Anyway, that particular day was Wednesday, the day she usually had therapy. However, since Bruce was busy and she was in the hospital, there was no way she could get to the asylum for treatment.

Maybe her injuries did have some advantages.

She wouldn't have to see her father today and not for at least another week. His new and improved fear toxin was surely to be ready soon. It had been more than enough time. It was only a matter of when he was ready to give it to her. She knew it would be the best day of his life.

It made her sick.

She was his daughter. She was supposed to be his baby girl, not someone he liked to beat or test or hate in general. Where was the love that fathers were supposed to give their daughters?

Bruce loved Vera, Dick, and Tim like they were his own children. But to Vera, it didn't feel the same. Something felt empty, like a missing puzzle piece that was never really there to begin with.

But that didn't stop Vera from wishing and longing for that puzzle piece, even though it was too far out of reach for even Jonathan couldn't reach it.

Vera sighed. She was glad she didn't have to see him, but on the other hand, she had been thinking about a lot lately, with all this thinking time in the hospital. She was in her own hospital room, so she didn;t evem have a roommate to talk to.

But then that fact changed.

At around noon, a girl around Vera's age was escorted into the room.

"Ivy, this is Vera. Vera, this is Ivy Pearson, she will be your roommate." the nurse introduced the two girls.

Vera smiled as wide as she could. She could feel the scars at the corner of her mouth being stretched from it.

"Nice to meet you, Ivy."

Ivy smiled just the same.

"Nice to meet you, too, Vera."

**MEANWHILE**

Jonathan strutted through the halls of the asylum and toward the therapy rooms that one of his patients was in, waiting for him to get their. She had taken a strange liking to him and he found that she was the perfect person to pull through with his plan. He could use her to get to Vera. Most definitely.

He walked swiftly into the room and closed the door behind him. There she was sitting on the couch. Visibly, she perked up at the sight of him.

"Hello, Heather."

"Hi, Dr. Crane!"

"I have a question for you."

She waited for him to ask.

"Would you like to come with me to a hospital? One of my patients is there and she's about your age. She can't get to therapy today so I am going to her. It must be lonely there for her and lonely here for you here."

"Dr. Crane, that would be wonderful!"

"We leave in an hour."

"Is the session over?"

"For now, yes. Just be ready to leave in an hour."

And an hour later, they were in Jonathan's car on the way to the hospital where Vera was. Perfect. Perfect.

Mr. Wayne had asked for him to go to the hospital since he couldn't bring to therapy that week. Jonathan jumped at the chance.

His toxin was ready and Vera would be the first to test it out.

Just thinking about it made Jonathan smile. It would be perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Heather and Jonathan got out of the car. He walked over behind and grinned maliciously.

In one movemnt, he hit Heather's head against the car and she fell to the ground unconcious. He grabbed her leg and snapped it, hearing the crack of the bone loudly in his ears.

Jonathan threw Heather over his shoulder and ran into the hospital, yelling.

"My niece is hurt!"

Medics rushed to help the pair. Jonathan's plan was going smoothly.

With Vera and Heather in the hospital, he could visit here and keep an eye on both of them. Heather was Jonathan's greatest doorway to Vera's mind. The therapy sessions did nothing. This would make everything better. He would know more about Vera than he would ever know just by a psychiatric evaluation.

His thoughts raced sperratically as the ecstasy at the situation took over his mind.

Vera wouldn't know what hit her.

**A/N: The program is over and I'll be updating faster. Sorry this is so short, I wanted to update but I didn't really have a lot of time.**

** Hope you liked the chapter. Sorry of it's hard to follow. My thoughts have been kind of unorganized lately. I just have so many ideas.**

** Until next time! By the way Ivy is Severus-Snape-Forever-Young and Heather is PinkJoker. :)**

**-Harley**

**Shout Outs:**

**Zeny**

**PinkJoker**

**Thanks for reviewing!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman.**

Once Heather was situated in her hospital room, Jonathan went sneaking around. Heather was still unconcsious so he didn't have to worry about her calling for him.

Mr. Wayne had given him Vera's room number and it was just about time for her therapy session anyway. So, he went off to pay his daughter a little visit.

He opened the door a crack. Inside the room, he heard talking. One voice was unmistakably Vera's but the other was unrecognizable. It sounded like a teenage girl but he couldn't be sure. He listened to their conversation for a few minutes.

"So what's your favorite movie?" Vera asked.

"Definitely Red Eye. Cillian Murphy is amazing in that movie!"

Their chatter went on for a while. And Jonathan got bored so he opened the door and walked in.

Vera's face dropped. He wasn't supposed to be here. Why was he here anyway?

"What the hell are you doing here?" she shrieked.

"Vera, Vera, Vera... Yo should know by now that I have my ways." he said. "And you might want to keep it down, I might just drop _something_..."

Vera knew exactly what that something was.

"What's going on?" Ivy asked.

"Don't worry about it, Ivy." Vera said, never taking her eyes off of Jonathan.

"Just some friendly conversation between a father and his _dear _daughter."

The sarcasm in his voice definitely stung.

"Now, come, Vera. We have a therapy session to attend."

Ivy stood up. "I won't let you take her with you..."

"It's fine. I know what I'm doing." Vera replied, solemnly.

"Do you?" Jonathan smirked. The look on both girls' faces were alarmed.

"Yes. Let's go... Dad."

Jonathan could tell that the word hurt her to say. He knew that when she flinched, she was remembering all of the things he'd done to her. She remembered everything.

As soon as they walked out the door, Vera tried to run. Maybe if she could outrun him for a while and find a place to hide, she'd never have to see him again. She'd be rid of him forever.

Jonathan gripped her arm tightly to prevent her from leaving. Then, he dragged her to the room Heather was staying at. He threw her into the room and shut the door. She crashed to the ground and screamed out in pain. She'd been holding it in as they'd been walking. Her injuries caused her a lot of pain even when she was just laying there, let alone walking.

Heather sat up in confusion. She smiled at Jonathan when he looked at her.

"Dr. Crane?"

He didn't answer her. Instead he ignored her and pulled up a chair for Vera to sit in. He pulled her up from the floor and put her in the chair. She did well to hide the scream that threatened to escape from her throat.

"Dr. Crane?" Heather asked again.

Jonathan straightened his tie and tried to keep cool despite the Heather's pestering and Vera's whimpers. He turned to face her slowly.

"Yes?"

"What's going on? Why am I at the hospital?"

_Ah, so she has a standard case of amnesia. Perfect. _Jonathan thought to himself.

"You fell down a flight of stairs so I brought you here." he explained. "This is Vera who also happens to be in the hospital. She's one of my other patients."

"Hi, Vera. I'm Heather."

"Hey." Vera said simply. She attempted to smile but Heather could tell she was in a lot of pain.

"I'm sure you two will be great friends." Jonathan said, a smirk planted on his lips.

**MEANWHILE**

Bruce sat down on his couch. It was the only free moment he'd had in a while. Dick and Tim sat down next to him. They all had free time. But unfortunately, there wasn't enough free time to visit Vera in the hospital, but they had been calling her so she didn't feel so alone.

Bruce picked up the remote and turned on the evening news. He was shocked at what he saw.

"Joker has once again escaped Arkham. This is the second time in the past few months. He was the only villian recaptured after the last escape. The others are still on the run and now, so is the Joker." the newscaster said.

"Batman's really got his work cut out for him tonight, hasn't he?" Dick asked, punching Bruce's arm.

"He sure does. But so do Nightwing and Robin." Bruce smirked.

They all knew that the next few nights as superheroes wouldn't be easy.

The thing that worried them the most is that Vera was out of their reach and out of the city limits. But hopefully, the Joker had no reason to go anywhere near Vera. As long as the team could keep him in Gotham, everything was fine.

What are the odds of Joker ending up at the same hospital Vera was staying at?

**ANYWAY**

In all honesty, Jonathan was surprised at how well the therapy session had gone. Heather and Vera had quickly become friends and he conducted what was a regular therapy session for Heather. He could tell Vera had thought it was odd but that was understandable. She'd never had a proper session before.

There really was no point in it though. Why waste the time in fixing her sanity just to break it again. The fear toxin was ready. He just had to figure out the right time and way to administer it to her.

After the session, Jonathan dragged Vera back to her hospital room. Before throwing her in he whispered dangerously.

"You tell a soul and I swear I'll make you regret ever running away in the first place."

Vera was shoved into the room. She landed against her bed and slowly climbed into it. The pain pierced her with every movement. But it was nowhere near the worst she'd felt. Definitely nowhere near that.

"You okay?" Ivy asked.

"I'm fine. Don't worry." Vera replied once she was situated.

"If you say so," the redhead said warily. "My dad called. He'll be here tomorrow."

"So, I get to meet your dad?"

"Yeah, I met yours, didn't I?"

"That's true." Vera sighed.

"Can you do me a favor, Ivy?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Please never tell anyone about my father."

"Why, Vera. Is there something wrong?"

"Just promise me okay? It could mean the difference with life and death."

Ivy was taken aback. "That's what I'm afraid of!"

"I'll be fine, as long as you don't tell. As soon as you tell, I lose any control I have over the situation and if that happens, then something bad could happen after that."

"Fine, I promise."

"Thank you." Vera sighed in relief. "So tell me about your dad."

"Well, he's kind of crazy if you ask me..."

**A/N: Ta da! Hope you liked it. Things will get more intense... Heheh**

** Anyway, please review. I'm gonna go take a nap. Later, I'm going to try to update my other story, Bella.**

** And I've been wanting to write another Batman story but I'm not sure what I want to write it about. If anyone has any story ideas please tell me in a review or PM. Please tell me what you would like me to write a story about. :)**

** Thank you for reading and I'll try to update soon. :)**

** -Harley**

** Shout Outs:**

** PinkJoker**

** Zeny**

** Animals are my Life**

** Hench-Girl95**

** PsychoSweetHeart**

** Thanks for reviewing! :)**


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not ow Batman.**

It was around 2 in the morning when Ivy's father walked in. It was late, in fact, the hospital was almost dead. Jonathan had gone home or at least back to the asylum. And Vera was rid of him for the time being.

But Vera was shocked when she saw who Ivy's dad was.

"Joker?" she whisper yelled as he slinked into the room. Ivy was dead asleep and she was a heavy sleeper so they both knew she wasn't waking up anytime soon.

"Ivy?"

"No, it's... it's Vera." she took a deep breath and awaited his reaction.

What is he hated her for running away? What if he didn't want anything to do with her? What if her father had brainwashed him into thinking bad things about her?

"Vera... Vera Crane?" he asked, sounding clearly surprised.

"Yeah, it's me."

He walked over to the bed and gave her a fierce hug. She hadn't had a hug like that since she was five yeard old. The last time she had seen the Joker.

"We missed you, kid."

"I missed you guys, too."

"What have you been up to?"

"My dad's trying to hurt me again. He's my psychiatrist now."

"What?''

Ivy stirred, now awake from her zombie like state of sleep. "Dad? Is that you?"

"Yup!" Joker said cheerfully, popping the P.

"We have to get you out of here, Vera, before he can really get to you. A few of us are hiding out in a warehouse in the Narrows, back in Gotham. I'll take you with us. He doesn't know where we are." Joker said.

"Sounds like a plan." Vera smiled, ecstatic.

She was sp happy. Finally, she would get away from her father. Unfortunately, that meant leaving Bruce. But she had to do this in order to protect the people she loved. Bruce, Tim, Dick, Violet, even Alfred,

It was better this way.

And eve though there were practical reasons for her to be happy, she was also just happy to see the people she was friends with since she was 5. Even though she hadn't seen them since then.

"So your dad is a dangerous person?" Ivy asked.

Vera nodded, a little disappointed that she hadn't told her friend the complete truth.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you go with him! Did he hurt you?"

Joker tensed and Vera felt it. The air in the room got very tense.

"Not especially. But he did take me to meet one of his other patients. She's our age, and she's really nice. Her name is Heather and she's in the hospital for a broken leg.

"Dad, do you think we should take her with us?" Ivy asked hopefully.

"I'm sure we could pull some strings."

"Get ready to g, guys, We have a long trip ahead of us." Joker said, and they could hear the smile in his voice.

"Let's go get Heather." Vera said.

"Okay."

The girls went to go find Heather.

When they got there, they tried to explain the situation to her but she just wouldn't listen. Well, actually, they tried to explain the situation while letting out as little information as possible. But Heather didn't want to go.

"I want to stay with Dr. Crane." her voice went all dreamy at the mere mention of his name.

"He's dangerous!" Ivy said

"We have to get out of here before it's too late!" vera exclaimed, frustrated.

"I want to be with him. I'm sorry you guys."

Vera and Ivy could both see that she wasn't going to budge. So they bif her farewell and went ot go find Joker so they could leave.

"Let's go!" he exclaimed excited.

They all snuck out of the hospital finally came to a stop in front of a car. The car Joker had stolen to get here.

"Hop in! We're going for a ride."

They gladly obliged.

There was nothing stopping Vera from escaping her father now. He had no control anymore. She wasn't a victim anymore. She had found a way out.

**A/N: I wrote that in 20 minutes... Oh My God.**

** -Harley**

** Shout Outs:**

Zeny

** IbelongInAStraightJacket**

** Animals are my Life**

** Hench-Girl95**


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman.**

They'd been in the car for about an hour. They were a little more than halfway back to Gotham. The car ride had been completely silent. Ivy had gone back to sleep and was quietly snoring in the front seat of the car.

"So what have you been up to, kid?" Joker asked.

"Well, on the night I left, Batman saved me." Vera said.

Joker had a dark look on his face. It was a well known fact that Batman and Joker weren't exactly buddies.

"Well anyway, I got adopted by Bruce Wayne. I have two brothers now, Dick Grayson and Tim Drake. They're all so awesome." she smiled, remembering them.

It was hard to say she only had two brothers. Vera used to have a third brother, Jason Todd, but he was killed. By the man who was driving the car she was currently in, no less. But she had to forgive him. But was a problem between Joker and Robin, not Joker and Jason Todd. She missed Jason with all her heart, but she knew that he was better off now, he didn't have to be so angry.

It would be hard to leave them, Vera knew that. But the fact that she'd never even gotten the chance to say goodbye hurt her deeply. Of course, she couldn't have said goodbye anyways, she would have had to tell them about her dad. They didn't know who her dad was. She'd never told them. It was too personal. But anyways, they would have never let her go. They could have claimed they could protect her.

But it was better this way.

This way, her adoptive family would remain oblivious to her past. They would have to deal with the fact that she went missing, but Vera could send them some kind of sign. A sign that said she was okay and that she loved them. She only hoped that they would understand.

"Sounds like a nice life you've built there, kid." Joker said, quietly.

He was jealous o all of them. He was jealous that they took her away from them. Of course, she ran away on her own but they could have found her, gotten her back. But deep inside the Joker's blackened heart, that it wouldn't have worked. She needed more than anything to get away.

And now her father was just sucking her right back in.

"Thank you." Vera said, suddenly.

"For what?"

"For saving me from my father. I doubt he would have let me live this time. I almost didn't last time."

"What are you talking about?" Joker said sharply.

"When I ran away,I collapsed on the street. If Batman didn't save me, I would have died right there on the street." Vera said, remembering the day as if it had just happened.

Joker was silent.

"He's not all bad, you know."

"Who? Batman or your father?"

"Batman. He has good intentions for the people of Gotham. But they just may not be the intentions you would like to have for Gotham. But I guess my father, too. I never really knew his story, so I'm trying hard not to judge. But it doesn't feel right, what he's doing."

"That's because it's not!" Joker exclaimed. "And what do you mean his story?"

"Don't judge my path if you haven't walked my journey."

They both sat in silence and pondered what Vera just said. Neither could believe that they were contemplating the fact that Dr. Jonathan Crane might actually have some could in him.

It was crazy, wasn't it?

But what if it wasn't?

What if inside of Jonathan Crane, there was some tiny amount of good? What if he actually had a heart? What if somewhere inside him, the best father in the world lived?

Vera shook her head. No, all of that was impossible.

"Joker?"

"Yeah?"

"Why'd you get put into Arkham?"

"Your idiot father got us found out using his toxin. Don't ask, but it wasn't pretty."

"Oh."

They drove for a while, a long while in fact. Vera wanted to sleep but she knew that this was not the place for nightmares. And she could never fall asleep during a car ride anyway.

At last, they pulled up to a run down warehouse in the middle of nowhere in Gotham. So this is where they've been staying. No wonder Batman hasn't found them yet.

"Honey, we're home!" Joker called out towards the warehouse.

Harley sprinted out towards the car. Two Face walked out nonchalantly. Poison Ivy followed after them.

"Where's Selina?" Joker asked.

"She had to go do something." Harley answered.

"Vera?" Two Face asked in utter astonishment.

Everyone stopped and turned to look at Vera. No one spoke, no moved, no one even breathed. The utter silence pierced Vera's ears and screamed louder than words ever could. It was painful. The pressure felt like it would crush her any second.

Vera didn't know what to say, what to do. These people were her friends. But she hadn't seen them since she was five. How did she know she could still trust them.

Of course she could trust them. Look at all they had done for her when she was younger and completely helpless. She hated herself for even doubting that for a second.

Vera got out of the car and took a deep breath. She prepared herself for her new life thankfully with her friends and not her father for the first time. But unfortunately a life without Bruce, Dick, and Tim.

Without a word, she walked straight over to Two Face and gave him the biggest hug she had ever given anyone.

"I missed you guys so much." she said, and the tears began pouring down her cheeks, staining Two face's ratty old suit.

Harley joined in the hug. Then Poison Ivy. Then Joker, and finally Ivy.

It was the best moment she'd had inn a long time. Definitely the best moment she'd had in years. She'd wanted this for so long. To have a nice moment with her friends, with her father out of the picture.

That moment had finally come. And temporary victory never tasted so sweet.

Because this victory wouldn't last. Not by a long shot.

**AT THE HOSPITAL THE NEXT MORNING**

Jonathan Crane strode into Vera's hospital room to find it empty. Both girls were gone. Not a trace of them was there. No one could have ever guessed that there were two teenage girls occupying this room a mere few hours ago. They were simply gone.

Rage flared up in his chest. The toxin was ready and he was just about to give it to her. Today was the day. It was the day he had been waiting for ever since he held his daughter in his arms. It was finally the day and she had to ruin it like she ruined everything else.

Without further ado, he briskly out of Vera's room and straight toward Heather's. Inside, there was Heather and another girl. He recognized the girl as Heather's cousin, Violet.

Jonathan knocked three times on the door and walked into the room.

"Dr. Crane!" Heather exclaimed and got a dreamy look on her face.

"Hello Dr. Crane. Nice to see you again." Violet smiled.

"Hello, girls. How are you both today?"

"Good," Violet replied calmly.

"Better now that you're here." Heather replied.

"Violet, you don't mind if I have a word alone with Heather, do you? It'll only take a moment, I assure you."

Violet nodded politely and walked out of the room. She closed the door behind her silently.

Jonathan smiled, warmly. Heather might know where Vera had gone. She might have come in Heather's room and offered to take Heather with her. She would want to save Heather from being tortured by Jonathan. Of course, she would. She would.

And of course, Heather would refuse, she always was too loyal to him. He found her attraction to him odd, but she did come in handy. Especially during times like these. And Heather better know where his daughter was, otherwise, things would turn out a lot worse for Vera than he originally planned.

He pictured the look of absolute terror on her face. Just the picture made him smile.

But he turned to Heather, expectant that she could give him something that he could work with. She was extremely loyal, which could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on who she was loyal to. She would be most loyal to him, obviously, but her loyalty to Vera was still in question. That could make things a little difficult for all of them. And that was the last thing that anyone wanted. Especially Vera.

"Heather, you became friends with Vera yesterday, correct?"

Heather nodded, her eyes getting big and dreamy. He could tell she was fantasizing. Probably about him. He wouldn't be surprised.

"And do you know where she went?"

Heather's eyes and smile faltered. He could tell she was torn.

"No, I don't know." she always was a terrible liar.

"Heather, do not make things difficult. You can't lie to me." he said, his voice dropping its volume. "Now where did she go?"

"She told me not to say. She's afraid of you." Heather said.

_As she very well should be, _Jonathan jeered in his thoughts.

"Where is she?" Jonathan made his voice stern.

"She went with this girl, Ivy. Ivy's dad came and was bringing them back to Gotham."

"Do you know who Ivy's dad was?"

"I only saw a glimpse of him. He had makeup on. It was white all over his face, but I saw a lot of red around his lips." she said quickly. "I don't know if that means anything to you though.''

"It does." he said sharply. "Did she ask you to go with them."

"Yes, she asked. She wanted to save me from you. I didn't want to go though. I told her that I'd be okay if I stayed here. But that she should go if she felt that it was right. I was hoping that she wouldn't go, but she ended up leaving with Ivy and her dad." Heather said, looking down. "That's all I remember."

"Why did you refuse her offer, Heather?"

Heather's voice dropped down to a whisper. "Because I wanted to stay here with you."

He pet the top of her head. "Good girl."

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop them."

"No worries, my dear, I'll find her and then I can take care of her like every good doctor should." he said, as if nothing unusual was happening, like he dealt with these kinds of things every day.

A psychologist deals with a lot of unusual things. But this situation would be a psychologist's dream to analyze.

"Violet, you can come back in." Jonathan called toward the hallway.

Violet came back in, looking bored. "My best friend, Vera is staying at this hospital. Heather, do you want to meet her? I think I'd be able to get her to come here."

"I'm sorry to inform you, but she has apparently checked out. She's one of my patients also and I was going to do a therapy session when I found her room empty. Sorry to disappoint." Jonathan said, solemnly. It took all he had not to smirk.

Another link to Vera. These girls could really be useful. All he had to do now would be to drive Violet insane and manipulate her. She could become one of his patients and he'll have two girls that he could use to get to Vera.

"It's okay, Violet. I've met her and she seems really nice." Heather said. "I didn't know that you were best friends."

"Yeah, we can tell each other just about anything."

"Anything?" Jonathan asked.

"Anything." Violet answered.

"That's a lot of trust to put in one person." Jonathan commented.

"That's what best friends are for." Violet answered matter-of-factly.

Jonathan thought about this for a minute. He'd never thought even once about trusting another person. These things just didn't happen. And now he understands why he's never trusted anyone, and why he's never even considered it.

Jonathan Crane has never had a best friend.

And from miles away, Vera realizes this, too. And suddenly, she understands why her father does some of the things he does, why he is the way he is sometimes. It's not the entire reason, but it's a lot more reason than none.

Jonathan Crane has never even had a friend.

And for the first time ever, someone feels sympathy for him, someone feels compassion for him. And that person is his daughter. The one he's hurt repeatedly so many times. And she can still find it in her heart to feel pity for this terrible man.

Because he's never had a best friend. Never.

**)))))))))))))))))))))(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((**

Bruce Wayne walks into the hospital. Once he gets past the front desk, he walks as fast as he can to the room that his adoptive daughter was staying in. Little does he know, she's left only a few hours before he got there.

Little did he know that he would be left broken, even more so than before.

"Vera..." he whispered as he walked in.

No one is in the room, no one. It's empty, like no one had ever been in the room in the first place. It was just like Jonathan had found it.

Actually, there was one piece of evidence left in that room. One piece of evidence that Jonathan had missed in his fit of rage. There was a piece of paper. And on that paper was a note. A not for the one and only Bruce Wayne.

Bruce ran over to the bed where the note was placed. He grabbed the paper impatiently and his eyes skimmed over the words on the page that he just couldn't seem to comprehend. He read the note over and over, but he couldn't understand what the note was staying. He didn't want to understand.

_**Dear Bruce,**_

_** I'm sorry. I really am. I'm sorry that I left on such short notice, I'm sorry that I left at all. I'm especially sorry that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye in person.**_

_** I'm in danger, and I can't even tell you what it is. Just please understand that by doing this, I'm protecting everyone I love and myself. I apologize that I can't explain more, but there's no time to. And it would be a lot safer for everyone if I was the only person who knows the full story. I just want to keep everyone safe.**_

_** Please don't worry about me. I'm with some old friends. I can protect myself. I have to. I'm the only one that knows how. Don't get stressed out, I know how stressed you can get sometimes. Just focus on the people of Gotham and protecting them. I'll be fine, I promise. The people of Gotham need you. Please don't let them down looking for me. I'll try to come back someday. But under the circumstances, I don't know if it's possible. And if it is, I don't know when that day will come.**_

_** But I'm on a mission. A personal one. If I don't complete it, it'll haunt me forever. I'm sure you know what that feels like.**_

_** Bruce, you're the best father I could ever ask for. So much better than my biological father. He's not dead, and that's the most I can tell you. He's not dead. But I can't tell you who he is or what he's planning. I'm sorry, Bruce. I really am.**_

_** Please tell Dick and Tim that I love them with all my heart. I couldn't have had better big brothers to help me through everything. I know they'll always be there even if I'm not. And for that, I thank them from the bottom of my heart. But I know I can never thank them enough.**_

_** But I can't thank you enough either. I can't express my gratitude to you. You took me in when I was a broken, dying child. Without you, I would literally be dead right now. And I wouldn't have experienced what a real family feels like. I would have been six feet under, at the hand s of my father.**_

_** I love you, Bruce. And I love Dick. And I love Tim. I hope you know that. Thank you for all you've done. And thank you for saving my life, more times than you know. Thank you for everything, Bruce. And trust me, it's better this way.**_

_** I love you, Dad**_

_** Love,**_

_** Vera**_

Bruce read the letter one last time. And he finally comprehended, finally understood what was happening.

He dropped to his knees, clutching the letter. Tears poured down his cheeks as he broke down by himself in the hospital room. He couldn't believe it. He really couldn't.

_Not again. Not again, please not again, _Bruce pleaded inside of his minds. _Not, Vera.. It's just like what happened with Jason._

Bruce was torn apart by the thought of his greatest failure. And now he would have to relive that with his daughter. That was the last thing he needed.

All he wanted to do was get into the car and drive home. He wanted to be greeted by Dick, Tim, and Vera at the door. He wanted to hold Vera in his arms. He wished this whole thing had never happened.

He wanted his baby girl back.

Then, he read over the letter again. Just the end this time.

_She called me Dad, _he marveled, shocked. _I'm her dad..._

And on top of all the pain and hurt was pride. She really considers him her dad. It's an honor to him. It's a shame that she's gone and he can't cherish that moment with her.

_She's gone, she's gone. I can't believe she's gone._ He sobs inside. _But she called me dad. She really thinks of me as her dad._

**A/N: That may be the longest chapter I've ever written for anything. Anything. Haha**

** So this chapter was intense. I had fun writing it. I hope you all liked it because it took me a long time and concentration. But this story really is a lot of fun to write. A LOT of fun :)**

** So, I will no longer be updating every day or every other day. I'll update every few days because it would be easier to write longer and better quality chapters. I'm still trying to figure out a schedule, but I won't say until I know for sure.**

** Until next time xD**

** -Harley**

** Shout Outs:**

** Guest**

** PsychoSweetHeart**

** IShouldBeInAStraightJacket**

** Thanks for reviewing! :)**


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:I do not own Batman**

It was a long while before Bruce calmed down. He regained his composure and walked out of the hospital room.

It took everything in his power to look like everything was okay and his baby girl didn't just up and leave. He wanted her back more than anything. These things weren't supposed to happen, especially to Batman. But he always seemed to find himself in bad situations, didn't he?

Slowly, he trudged out of the hospital, not really knowing what to do. He'd have to report her missing, as soon as possible. On his drive home, he called the police station. In fact, Officer Gordon picked up the phone.

"This is Commissioner Gordon."

"I'd like to report my daughter missing."

They went through the entire process, it was just a formality. Batman could do more inn finding Vera than the entire police squad could. Gordon knew it, too. Even though he didn't know that Bruce was in fact Batman.

Even though Bruce knew there was no point in feeling bad right now, he knew he would find Vera. And he knew she would be okay. There was no way in the world that she wouldn't be alright. It couldn't happen. Bad things happen in the world, but karma wasn't that much of a bitch right?

First his parents, then Jason, there can't be another. Not Vera. That was too much for even Bruce to take.

As he pulled up to Wayne Manor, a horrible thought occurred to him. Because not only was she a daughter, she was also a sister. And now he would have to tell her big brothers that she was gone. And her big brothers were not going to take it well.

He was especially worried about Dick. Dick would take it the worst. He knew, he just knew Dick would do something drastic after finding out.

_Not Dick, too, _Bruce cried inside his thoughts.

"Dick! Tim!" Bruce shouted. "It's an emergency!"

The two boys thundered downstairs faster than he'd ever seen anyone ever move before. Dick slid down the banister and flipped off at the end. He didn't skip a beat and took off running towards Bruce, a look of determination on his face.

Tim ran, stealthily, and kept pace with Dick. He jumped down the last section of stairs and ran as fast as he could. The look on his face was almost identical to Dick's.

Both of them came to a stop at Bruce's feet in a flash. This normally wasn't how they reacted to emergencies. Their instincts let them know that something was up, something really wring was happening. They sensed it ever since Bruce left and it had been bugging them both. Now they both would finally know what was up.

"What's the emergency?" Tim asked, urgently.

"What happened?" Dick asked, just as urgently.

Bruce took a deep breath, he straightened his shoulders, and closed his eyes. Finally, he came out of it and answered them.

"Vera's gone."

"She's dead?" Tim asked.

"No. She ran away. She left a note saying that she was protecting us and that it was better this way."

"How could she?" Tim fumed.

He was angry, he was furious, absolutely livid. How DARE she? They were more than capable of protecting her, a lot more capable than she was. And they could take care of themselves, she didn't need to.

How could she be so stupid? Vera was a smart girl, she really was, but then to go and fuck up like this? This was major, major stupid.

Why could he see that and not her? Why could he see how stupid this was? Why couldn't she just fucking open her mouth and tell them what the hell was going on. Why did she always take it upon herself to fix things, especially things that she can't fix?

This whole thing was just messed up.

Tim paced up and down the hall, muttering obscenities and cursing Vera's name. He was angry, angrier than he had been in a long while. And he had been pretty angry lately.

His little sister had messed up enough to cost her her life. And he would never get the chance to be a big brother again. This was his only shot to be a big brother. The only person he was ever a big brother to was her. And she just had to go and take that away. She had to ruin everything, didn't she?

Damn her.

Vera was so damn selfish. This whole stunt was so stupid and selfish. She would probably die because of it. And it serves her right for being such a bitch. She deserves everything that comes her way because of this little stunt. He was so furious with her right now.

Dick just stood there, a blank expression on his face. He felt numb, completely numb and he didn't know what to do about it.

He couldn't comprehend that Vera was gone. His sister couldn't be gone. She was just in the hospital.

She couldn't;t run away, that wouldn't be like her. She's too smart for that. Bruce was simply under the wrong impression. Vera wasn't gone.

In a few days, he'd go up to her room and she'd be there, waiting for him. She'd give him a hug and he'd say that he was glad she was back from the hospital, that he missed her. Then she would tell him that she loved him. And he would say that he loved her back.

Realization struck hard.

The weight of a train hit Dick, grief as heavy as bricks, pain as sharp as needles came rushing into his reality. His baby sister was gone. She was as good as dead, without him to protect her. And all he felt was pain and sadness. He couldn't believe it, he didn't want to believe any of it.

Dick fell to his knees, clutching his chest where his aching heart resided. "VERA! VERA!" he screamed, as if she would hear him and magically appear before him.

But she wouldn't. She was truly gone from him. Forever.

**A/N: Sorry for the shortness and long wait. I was unmotivated but I think I've gone into the swing of things.**

** Insomnia has been messing with my head though so sorry :(**

** Hope you enjoyed the chapter even if it was a little short, my sincerest apologies.**

** -Harley**

** Shout Outs:**

** ClowningAround**

** darkdeadmau5**

** can'thinkofasuitableusername**

** Zeny**

** Hench-Girl95**

** IShouldBeInAStraightJacket**


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman Begins, but I so totally own Cillian Murphy. Okay, so maybe I don't but I wish I did.**

Vera and Harvey were sitting on the dingy couch of their hideout. It had been a few days since she had arrived and nothing could get better. Her dad was nowhere to be found. She knew Bruce, Tim, and Dick were all okay because there were a steady stream of Batman/Robin/Nightwing sightings reported in the news.

Vera had been really comfortable these last few days. Of course Harley and Poison Ivy had stole her and wouldn't leave her alone. She finally had time to catch up with Harvey. She hadn't talked to him in a really long time and they both missed each other.

It's been 8 years for crying out loud.

"So what exactly happened after you ran out?" Harvey asked curiously.

"Well I was left dying on the street. It was actually Batman who saved me." Vera said.

Harvey's nose scrunched up in disgust. He hated the Batman, just like the rest of the Rogues did.

"Without him, I would have been dead eight years ago." she whispered quietly.

"Then I guess we have something to thank him for." Harvey smiled. "Saving our little girl."

Vera smiled back at him and looked around the room. Something didn't feel right in this place. She quickly shook the feeling off and turned back to Harvey.

"So what have you been up to?"

"I got adopted."

"By who, may I ask?" Harvey was taken aback.

"Bruce Wayne."

"I knew Bruce Wayne. He threw me a fundraiser when I was a District Attorney." Harvey remembered.

"You knew Bruce?" Vera asked with interest.

"Yeah, I did. He was a good guy."

"I miss him. He was a good dad."

Harvey winces at the sentence. Of course, he hated Bruce, always did. They both competed for Rachel. That didn't end well but that's besides the point. Bruce was always competition and he hated it. Now he was stealing Vera away from him, too.

Harvey hated that even more than he hated losing Rachel He'd already lost Vera eight years ago. And he would soon lose her again to Bruce. Bruce Wayne of all people.

Harvey wanted to be the father figure that Vera never had. He wanted to be everything Jonathan wasn't to her. But now Bruce had taken his spot. Frankly, he was jealous and he could admit it. But only to himself. And most certainly not Vera. She could never know the animosity between Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne, two of the most important people in er life.

Vera noticed Harvey's face darken. She figured he was zoned out. And let him have is moment. Harvey was known to zone out when he was deep in thought and it was best to leave him alone for a few minutes. So that's what she did.

After a while, Harvey came around again. He was still a little dazed, Vera could tell but she ignored it to the best of her ability. Harvey looked at her, his eyes holding regret. For what she didn't know but Harvey certainly did.

It was regret for not coming after her. The day she left was the day he lost everything all over again. Crane's threat seemed so minimal compared to the hell that Vera had been through. Harvey couldn't believe that his toxin was the only thing that stood between the Rogues and Vera that day, and they let it get the best of them.

Harvey gave her a reassuring smile and they continued their conversation. It had taken an awkward turn. Vera felt out of place all of a sudden. There was something going on inside Harvey's mind and she wasn't exactly sure what it was. But it made her uncomfortable, she knew it had something the mention of Bruce.

_Maybe they had bad blood between them. Maybe it had something to do with Rachel, _Vera thought to herself. The excuses made her feel better but only to a certain extent.

"So what have you guys been up to?" Vera asked.

"Same old, same old. It's been pretty boring actually." Harvey chuckled.

"That's too bad, I was hoping to hear you were all on the way to world domination." Vera said. Harvey laughed and hugged Vera. It was a nice moment between old friends, something that neither had had in eight years.

After about two hours of chatting, Vera retired to the kitchen to think by herself. It was late and everyone, including Harvey was sleeping. She was the only one awake.

Sitting on an old stool, Vera put her head in her hands and began to think. There was something bothering her and she didn't exactly know what it was.

For a long time, Vera just sat there, her mind void of any thought. She sat there, her mind only drawing a blank. It was frustrating for sure, and then...

She figured it out.

She didn't belong here. She didn't belong with the Rogues here. She might have belonged eight years ago inn that old house, but certainly not here, not now. She belonged with Bruce, Tim, and Dick.

She hated how her friends were so gracious to her and she just didn't belong. It was sad that Vera was the only one who actually understood what was going on. She wasn't one of them, she never was.

Of course, she didn't belong with her father either, he was just a cruel obstacle that kept getting in her way. Of course, he probably thought the same thing about her. She wasn't meant to be his, she was meant to be Bruce's.

Now that she knew she didn't belong, Vera wanted nothing more to fit in with these people. She wanted to reminisce a time when she did belong.

So she decided that tomorrow, she would go back to the old house that they lived inn when she was five.

After reaching a decision, Vera went over to the room that she shared with Ivy and layed down on the cot.

She wasn't in the least bit tired. So she thought some more.

She thought about Tim and how they had their staring contests. She thought about Dick and how they would stay up all night and watch horror movies. She thought about how much she missed Jason. And she thought about Bruce.

_Daddy..._ was the last thought in Vera's mind as she finally fell asleep after another day in hiding.

**A/N: Why is my internet so stupid?**

** My internet has been down for a week and it's pissing me off.**

** Sorry for not updating in so long, I have excuses but it's best if I don't use them... Whoops... But anyway...**

** This was just a filler chapter The next chapter will be very important to the story... I'll be updating as soon as I can. I still need to update Bella, my other story...**

**But thanks for reading. Until next time. :)**

** -Harley**


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman. **

Vera walked down the dark streets of Gotham, her long hair flowing behind her. It was chilly and the wind was blowing slightly. No one seemed to notice her. She knew Bruce had reported her missing. She also knew that it was formality, just to keep suspicion away from him. Batman had more chance of finding Vera than the entire GCPD. And he had Nightwing ad Robin on his side.

No one around her noticed her. She was the adopted daughter of Bruce freaking Wayne ad everyone was too wrapped up in nothing to notice her.

Part of her wanted someone to recognize her, to turn her in so she could finally see Bruce, Tim, and Dick. She wanted to be part of a normal family. Well, as normal as the Bat-Family could be. The Rogues would never be normal, but the Wayne s could at least pretend to be.

Vera shivered as she picked up her pace. The temperature was dropping quickly and it was definitely noticeable. She wrapped the scarf she borrowed from Harley around her neck tighter. The cold nipped at her nose and the tips of her ears. She knew her cheeks were bright red despite her efforts to keep herself warm.

Suddenly, there was an arm around Vera's waist and she felt herself being pulled into an alleyway. There was a blade at her throat, She could feel the blood trickling down her neck as the knife pressed into it.

"You're the Wayne girl, right?" a gruff voice asked from behind her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Vera replied, her voice shaking.

"Really? Because I think you do." he shoved her against the brick wall of the alleyway. He pulled out a missing person's poster that had her face on it. "This is you, no mistaking it."

"You caught me." Vera said, her voice shaking even more. She was scared, no doubt, terrified even. It made her feel vulnerable, and she knew it made her look vulnerable. But at the moment, she _was _vulnerable. She wasn't the one with the knife, she wasn't the one dishing out threats, he was.

And she didn't even know who he was.

"Listen here, sweetheart." the man started. "If you want to get home alive, you better call your billionaire daddy and tell him that we need $700,000,000. And when he gives it to us, then you're fine, and if he doesn't, you're dead. Got it?"

She nodded, a sinking feeling in her stomach. She gulped and tried to keep her tears at bay, she needed to be strong.

"Now come with me and then we can make the call."

He shoved Vera forward towards a dirty white van at then end of the alleyway. She only wished she'd noticed it before.

He stopped dead inn his tracks right in front of the van. ""Get in."

Vera grabbed the knife by the blade in one motion and kicked the man in the groin, taking him by surprise. The knife fell into her hand and she swiped it across his face. It took only a moment for the man to recover and it was clear he was not going to give up.

Once he had a grip on her wrists, she pulled him closer to her and brought her head forward to connect with hers. He stumbled backwards and fell to his knees. In his daze, he grabbed Vera's ankle and dragged her down to the ground. She fell face first and heard a crack in her nose.

Vera took the knife, a trench knife and sawed through his hand like butter. His screams of agony were like a comforting melody, and the blood pouring out of the stump. His hand lay at her feet and she smiled at the sight.

"You, bitch!" he yelled, clutching his arm. Vera smirked, admiring her handiwork.

"Should've had a plan B!" she sneered at him.

She kicked his stump of an arm and he screamed out again in pain. She smirked, and it never crossed her mind but she looked exactly like Jonathan when she wore the proud smirk on her face, the smirk of superiority.

At that moment, she wasn;t Vera. She wasn;t Vera Wayne. Right now, she was Vera Crane.

She truly was the Scarecrow's daughter, and much like the Scarecrow himself, she was determined to get her way.

If Bruce could see her, he would be ashamed. He would feel shame at what she had become in her worst moments. This was not how he'd raised her.

He'd be reminded of Jason. He'd be reminded of the rage inside of Jason, the rage that was living through the Scarecrow's daughter right then. He'd be reminded of how Jason was killed and Batman wasn't able to get there in time.

Jason and Vera were too alike.

Scarecrow's daughter was bloodthirsty and she would stop at nothing until this man was dead.

How dare he think she was weak? How dare he demand things from her? If he only knew what he got himself into, he would have never set foot within a hundred foot radius of her.

As Vera stood up, blood pouring down her face, both hers and the man's in front of her. There was blood in her teeth and she could taste it on her tongue. It tasted like victory, Bloody victory. And this time around, victory never tasted so sweet.

"I swear, I'll murder you..." the man growled dangerously.

Scarecrow's daughter laughed and put the tip of the knife right under his chin. "Well, you see. I'm the one with the knife."

For once, she saw fear in it's pure form, she saw absolute terror right before her eyes. Not like the acting in the horror movies. This was real true fear. She drank it in, cherishing every sip of it. The glint in her eye was amused and brought even more fear to the man before her.

"What is it?" she asked, chuckling. "Afraid you're gonna die?"

He spit at her but she dodged it as he quickly became silent again. She held his stare with her own, ten times more intense. When they say she had her father's eyes, they mean it. Despite they looked the same, they had the same effect on their victims.

"Is that it?" she asked, tauntingly. "Is that what you were afraid of? Death?"

He whimpered and her smile grew larger. She knew she looked terrifying. She felt her old scars open up before. She had the Joker's smile and fresh blood poured out of the scars. Along with the blood from her nose and new cut on her forehead. She was a bloody mess and she knew it.

"There was once a time when I welcomed death." her voice was hollow, it held no emotion that just made it eerier and eerier. The expression was haunting, she was too young to welcome death.

He thought she might be lying but the glint in her eyes told him he was wrong and the look on her face told him that either way it didn't matter. She'd made him think. And he would remember what she said.

"Remember me." she whispered, dauntingly.

She slashed the knife across his throat and waited until his eyes rolled into the back of his head. She checked his pulse to make sure he was dead. He was.

Her heart was pounding. It was an amazing high. Now she'd understood the Joker's need to kill. It gave you an ecstatic feeling.

Upon understanding Joker, she also understood her father. She understood why he was so interested in fear. It was beautiful. The way people openly become the cowards they've been all along right as they stare death in the face.

In this scenario, she was the death he stared in the face. And she loved it.

After admiring the dead body on the ground, her breath hitched in her throat. What had she just done?

There was a dead man lying at her feet. And she was killed by her hand. She just killed a man. And not only did she murder him, she tortured him before she did it, too.

Dread filled her veins as realization hit her. This wasn't her. What just happened? There's no way... No way...

Vera looked down at the blood on her hands. She felt her face and felt the blood still flowing there. She couldn't think, could barely breathe.

What had she done?

She was so panicked, she was shaking harder than she ever had in her life. Adrenaline was still surging through her, but so was hate and that hate was aimed at herself.

She was angry at what she had just done. She could have easily ran away, but something took over her and she took it too far. She killed a man for God's sake!

It was like she was turning into a monster, into her father. And that was something she promised she would never ever do. Becoming a monster was one thing, becoming her father was completely another. He was worse than a monster, he was a demon. He was the Master of Fear.

With the adrenaline still surging through her, she ran off. She ran as fast as she could in the direction of her old house with no thoughts of turning back. In fact, she had no thoughts at all, she didn't want to think about her episode back there. She just wanted to disappear and forget whatever happened to her.

Bruce, Tim, and Dick would be so ashamed of her.

And that was the thought that drew her over the edge as she pushed her legs to run as fast as they could, to carry her all the way home.

Up on the building was the one and only Robin, Tim Drake. Not only was he aware that there was a dead man on the ground below him, he was also aware of who killed him and how they did it.

He watched the whole thing, from the time Vera was being threatened to when Vera was running as fast as she could down the street.

Tim thought about going after her but decided against it. He was too pissed at her right now. All he felt was hate towards her right now. She wasn't his sister, she was a completely different person now and he hated it. He hated her.

Robin dropped down to inspect the body of Vera's victim. She got him pretty bad. It was brutal. He gasped in surprise when he saw who the victim was.

Vera just murdered Carmine Falcone.

**A/N: This is kind of a dark chapter, pretty gruesome. But I think it's my favorite chapter so far. I love it.**

** Not the chapter I was planning to put up but I got thos idea so the idea will be in the next chapter haha**

** Until next time! :) Thanks for reading.**

** -Harley**

** Shoutouts:**

** IshouldBeInAStarightJacket**

** ZenyZootSuit**

** Rorschach In Blue Jeans**

** Animals are my Life**


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman. :(**

Vera ran as fast as she could, her lungs burning with every step. Her feet and calves hurt like hell but she knew she couldn't stop until she reached the old hideout. No one was around to see what she did, but there was the chance that Batman, Robin, or Nightwing saw it. Maybe they all did.

She was blissfully unaware that Robin really did see what she did. She was unaware that he was mad at her, he was furious even. She was unaware just how much she'd torn her family apart. Things just weren't the same anymore for Bruce and Dick. Tim was just so full of anger that he convinced himself he didn't even care anymore.

But Vera didn't know any of that.

But still she ran, trying to get to the old house as fast as she could. Her legs felt like they would give out at any moment and her lungs were burning so bad, she thought she might collapse before she even got there. But she persisted, her body aching with each and every step.

Robin ran after her, easily and effortlessly keeping up with her. He ran atop the buildings above Vera, so she wouldn't notice him unless she looked up, which she wouldn't do while she ran. She was too focused. But if she stopped running and looked up, it would give him time to hide.

Satisfied that the chances of him being caught were in his favor, Tim pushed himself faster. Vera was a little farther in front of him than he'd like her to be. He was Robin, Batman's sidekick, he couldn't be outrun by a tiny thirteen year old girl.

He felt the rage burning inside of him. He hated, hated her with an intense passion he had never felt before. He'd never been this angry in his life.

The thing that was really bothering Tim wasn't so obvious as the rest. He hated her for leaving them, he hated her for killing a man, he hated her for being the selfish brat she had been being lately. He also hated her for being Bruce's favorite.

Dick couldn't see it, but Bruce loved Vera more than he had loved any of his sons. Vera had always been his favorite. Tim was just pushed to the side and Vera was held on a freaking pedestal. Bruce might as well have tattooed **Vera is my favorie child **right on his goddamn forehead, It was so obvious and it made Tim sick to his stomach.

Vera didn't deserve to be his favorite, she didn't deserve the attention. Tim was Robin, Batman's ever faithful companion and Dick had been before that. It should at least be one of them.

Tim didn't care about being Bruce's favorite, he just hated that it was Vera. He would be fine if Dick was his favorite. And it would be even better if it was him, but it wasn't, it was Vera. And that was complete bullshit.

But again, Vera was blissfully unaware of this.

The only yhing she was aware of was the pain taking over her body. But it didn't seem like that much of a problem. She only had to run for about another minute before she could reach her old house. It was just a few blocks away. Not that big a deal.

Her heart pounded as she stopped at the front lawn. As soon as she stopped she looked up at the house. Vera dropped to her knees, her chest heaving. She was breathing heavily and she couldn't get the air into her lungs fast enough. Her body burned and her heart felt like it would explode before she even got a chance to stand up. It hurt so bad yet it felt so good to be home.

She never thought she would be happy to see this place again.

Happy memories flooded her mind. She remembered Harley and Poison Ivy using her as a Barbie doll to dress up and put makeup on. It always made her feel like a princess. Which was a rarity considering that she was five years old before she stepped outside of the house's boundaries.

She remembered how the Joker used to show her magic tricks or help her play pranks on the others. He used to tickle her and try his hardest to make her laugh. He was one of her best friends.

She remembered how she used to sit on the couch and listen to the Riddler as he told her riddles. She never got them, but she was only five. Then again, she hasn't gotten any better at them. So she might just be bad at riddles.

She also remembered how she used to go to Harvey for everything. She told him everything that happened. He was her guardian, her rock. He was there for everything and she always appreciated that. He was more like a father than her father ever was.

Vera smiled as she caught her breath. She didn't notice the pain anymore, it was in the back of her mind. All she thought about was home. She was here, at the first place she'd ever learned to call home. Wayne Manor may be her true home, but this was her first home.

She slowly got to her feet and stood for a minute. Her legs were still a little shaky, but she didn't notice as she stared in awe at the house standing before her.

Vera walked up to the front steps of the house, taking her time and taking in the experience. She missed this place to be honest, even though she knew she shouldn't.

She reached for the knob on the door. She was surprised when she found it locked. Which she should have expected in the first place. She shouldn't have expected the Rogues to leave their hideout unlocked. They were probably forced to switch hideouts as they were captured and brought into Arkham over and over.

Vera cursed. It wasn't that much of an issue. She could easily break a window and climb in that way. It just would have been so much easier if she could just walk through the door.

Grabbing a large branch from a fallen tree, she rammed it into the window. The glass shattered and she threw the branch on the ground, and slipped through the window. Stepping around the broken glass, she found herself in the kitchen.

Despite all the good memories that surrounded this house, nothing could overcome the memories of her father. Her father was everywhere in this house, not physically at the moment but the memories surrounded the entire atmosphere inside.

Vera walked through the kitchen and into the living room. She looked around and moved onto the next room and the next.

It felt so good to be home. Nothing could beat the feeling. But her father's face filled her mind, hindering her from enjoying being here. Something didn't feel right. She didn't know what but she could sense it and it didn't feel right at all.

As soon as she made it back to the kitchen, she fell to the ground, clutching her knees to her chest. She was going under in a flashback that scarred her memory. It was one of many but just as intense as the others. And it happened right there in that very kitchen. In an instant, she was five years old again.

_"Vera!"_

_ His voice barked from the basement that was off of the kitchen. Soon, she could hear her father's footsteps coming up from his lab. And he was pissed._

_ She contemplated running but she knew it would be make him angrier. It would be better to just get it overwith._

_ "What is the meaning of THIS?" her father demanded, slamming a piece of paper down on the table in front of her._

_ It was a picture she had drawn. She got up extra early so she could finish the picture and put it in his lab before he woke up._

_ It was a flower and it was the best thing she had ever drawn. She hoped that once her daddy saw how good it was, maybe he would be proud of her. Then she could work on getting him to love her._

_ "It's a drawing, Daddy..." she whispered, looking down at her feet. _

_ "Well, I don't need this NONSENSE. And I already forbade you to go in my lab."_

_ "I'm sorry..."_

_ "You're sorry?" he asked, tauntingly, grabbing her by her hair and throwing her to the ground._

_ "Yes!" she screamed as she hit the ground._

_ He kicked her shoulder hard. She felt the tears prick her eyes._

_ No, she thought to herself. She couldn't cry this early on. It would only get worse from here on out._

_ He swiftly grabbed her arm and pulled her up off the ground. Their faces were cetimeters apart. She was scared and he knew it. And he knew various ways to play it to his advantage._

_ "I don't love you. Why can't you understand that, you stupid girl?" he growled. Then he dropped her and she crashed to the ground once again. There was another kick, this time to her ribs and she felt a crack. He heard it, too, and he smiled as he did._

_ Jonathan picked up a knife from the counter and walked back over to her. He bent down to his __crying daughter on the ground and roughly grabbed her arm. Her shoulder came out of place as he did. It was definitely dislocated._

_ Then he held the knife to her arm. She whimpered as she felt the cold tip of the blade against her skin. She didn't exactly know what was coming and she was terrified._

_ Jonathan grabbed the picture off the table and used it as a reference. He took the tip of the knife and began to carve out a copy of the flower right onto Vera's arm. He drew and slid the knife around inside her arm._

_ He ripped the skin and blood practically jumped out of the wound. It gushed all over the floor and all over Vera and Jonathan._

_ When he was satisfied, he put the knife in the counter and bent down. His mouth was close to Vera's ear. "You got blood on my suit." _

_ And with that, she slapped his creation on her arm and she screamed. It was agonizing. _

_ Then, he left. Just simply walked away and back down to his lab._

_ And Vera just lay there crying, bloody and broken, awaiting for someone to come home so she could get help with her injuries._

Vera came out of the flashback. She was gasping and panting, still on the floor in the very spot she left off in her flashback

She got up, deciding she would go back to the new hideout. It was safer there. Vera had had enough for now, she could always come back later.

Walking towards the door, there was a sudden hand on her shoulder. She shrieked and turned around, but was seized by the stranger and held against them.

Their hand was on her mouth, preventing her from screaming, though no one would be around to hear it anyways. Her hands were behind her back and she couldn't move. She was completely at the mercy of this stranger.

"A little scared, are we?" Jonathan Crane hissed into her hear.

**A/N: Intense! This is a really important chapter to the story, it'll be really moving the story along. Hahaha From here on out it will be getting more to the point of the story. It'll be a little more exciting. I was thinking of adding a secondary storyline that will tie into this one at the end. If I decide to do it, I still need to decide what it is so it might not be introduced for a while but that's if I decide to do it. But who knows? It might be in the next few chapters. But if anyone has ideas for any secondary storylines please review it or PM me :) Thanks **

** Tim is such an angry little... isn't he?**

** And Jonathan, such a terrible father... Among other things...**

** Poor Vera :(**

** I'm so mean :D**

** Anyways, until next time! Thanks for reading!**

-Harley

** Shoutouts:**

** IShouldBeInAStraightJacket**

** ZenyZootSuit**

** PsychoSweetHeart**

** Animals are my Life**

** Rorschach In Blue Jeans**

** XxxKitKatxxX**

** Thanks for reviewing! :)**


	19. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman in any way. Though I really really should. **

Vera's entire world stopped. Nothing seemed real. It seemed like she was in slow motion and there was no way to stop what was happening. She felt completely vulnerable and helpless all over again. She knew she had little control over situation. And her father could make her do anything he wanted her to do.

"What are you doing here, my child? Come back to relive your old memories." he asked, tauntingly.

"Well, some memories." she whispered. It was hard to talk with the hand that was around her throat.

"You see, it was by chance that I've caught you here. I was just visiting to gather some things that we left here. And you just happened to be here." he said, slyly.

"Perfect."

"Yes, it is perfect. And since you came back to relive memories, it's only fair that I get my share of my favorite memories from thiis place." his hand gradually tightened more and more.

Vera couldn't breathe and she was beginning to wonder if he just might strangle her on the spot. But then decided that it was too unlike him, he would want to at least test her first. She knew there was no way to get out of this. She was completely screwed.

"Do you know what my favorite memories are, Vera?" he asked.

She stayed silent. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. It was obvious what he was talking about but if she was going to go down, she didnn't want to go without a fight.

Jonathan threw her to te ground. She coughed and rasped as he released her throat but then bashed her head in on the ground.

"What happened to you?" he asked. "Why are you covered in blood?"

Once she recovered from her coughing fit, she answered him. "I killed a man."

She wasn't proud of it, not in the least. But she couldn't seem weak or ashamed in front of her father. It would give him an advantage and when pride came into the picture, her father knew exactly how to play it.

"Oh?" he said with interest. "Who was it? A child? Some weak homeless man?"

She didn't like his taunts. "Carmine Falcone."

Jonathan was surprised. She surely wasn't capable of killing him, or anyone for that matter. But he had gotten the call from one of his thugs that Carmine Falcone was, in fact, dead. Murdered. And the only way she would have known was if she was the one who did the deed.

"Wow, I am impressed." he said. "It makes me almost proud."

That stung. He knew that all Vera wanted was for her dad to be proud of her. And now it seemed just within reach. Kill a few more people and she was golden.

But then he would rip it from he grasp, straight out of her fingers as if it was never really there in the first place. He would rip her hopes to shreds as soon as she got what she wanted.

"It's not something to be proud of." she stated plainly.

"So you're ashamed then?" he seemed amused.

"I didn't say that. But I'm not proud of what I did." she said, icily. "But then again, someone else was going to do it sooner or later."

"Sooner, I'd assume."

"And how would you know?"

"I'm in a high place of power in this city." he said, pride evident in his tone.

"Great..."Vera said sarcastically.

He bent down, grabbed her hair and pulled it roughly. Still pulling it slightly, he put his lips next to Vera's ear. She shudddered.

"I've kept the scum of Gotham off of you. I told them not touch a hair on yor head."

"Yet you're pulling mine now." she said, defiantly.

He gave a sharp yank of her hair and she screamed out more in surprise than pain. She was in enough pain already.

Jonatha bent down further so his forehead was pressed against Vera's. He could feel her breath on his face and she could feel his on her lips.

All she wanted to do was puke. It was disgusting. She just wanted to get away from this man. He was a monster. Scratch that, he was more than a monster.

"You're lucky I even said anything about not hurting you in the first place, you ungrateful imbecile." he growled dangerously in her face.

"I was grateful to get away from your sorry ass." she said, a wave of rebellion washing over her. She knew she would pay for it later.

He backhanded her across the face. "I am better than you will ever be, and you know it."

She spit in his face and he pulled her hair again. "Well it's been fun but it's time for us to go. You're coming back to the asylum with me."

"Arkham?"

"No, you idiot. They know me at Arkham. We're going to Smith's Grove."

And with that, he bashed her head agianst the floor and she blacked out into sweet, ignorant, helpess unconciousness.

**A/N: Hello, hello again. Just a short filler update. I've been working on other possible new stories so...**

** Any Cillian Murphy fans out there, you should be excited. That's all I'm going to say.**

** School starts tomorrow so I don't know how often I can update. I don't think it will be a problem. But in the worst case scenario, I'd be updating every school :(**

** Anyways, until next time! :)**

** -Harley**

** Shoutouts:**

** ZenyZootSuit**

** XxxKitKatxxX**

** IShouldBeInAStraightJacket**

** Rorschach In Blue Jeans**


	20. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or Jonathan Crane, sadly.**

When Vera awoke, she was on a couch somewhere but she wasn't sure where. It was leather which wasn't so bad. But it was lumpy and really uncomfortable.

She didn't want to open her eyes. She knew when she did, she would have to face Jonathan. And let's be honest, who would want to do that in that particular situation?

"I know you're awake, Vera." her dather said. "I don't know who you think you're trying to fool."

She opened her eyes and he was standing above her. She gave a little shriek. He was no more than three inches away from her nose. She hadn't expected him to be that close. He sounded so far away when he talked.

Jonathan chuckled and straightened himself up. He smoothed down his suit and the wrinkles disappeared. Vera watched him from the couch, not bothering to move.

How could someone as disgusting as him appear so dignified? Well, when people didn't know that he was the Scarecrow. If you asked anyone in Gotham, he was a monster. But anywhere else, he was an appreciated doctor. How had the truth not gotten out?

The worst thing was, Bruce didn't even know. Crane wasn't exactly an uncommon name and he never saw Jonathan's face at Smith's Grove. He had no idea the predicament she was in. And all she needed was his help. Bruce was her only hope at this point. Even she couldn't save herself now.

"Why do you bother?" Vera asked, venom dripping from her voice. Her eyes were trained on him. Both sets of intense blue orbs stared back at each other with th same animosity. It was father and daughter at it again.

"Bother with what?" he asked, defensive. His walls were up.

"Why are you still a psychologist? If fear is what you desire, then why not unleash the Scarecrow on everyone?"

He smiled a creepy smile. It was too calm. Heshould have lashed out, but he was calm. Too calm.

"You see, my daughter. It's all part of my plan."

She spat at him. "I'm not your daughter, _Jonathan."_

He stepped toward her and slapped her across the face. "Treat your father with some respect."

"I'm not your daughter. I never was. You're not family. You never will be."

"How dare you?" he said, gripping her hair. "All I've given you? It's more than I've ever got from my own father. You should be grateful."

"I understand now." she said, grinning. A sudden spout of courage erupted in her chest. She knew what she wanted to say. "You're all alone. You don't have anyone, not even your own daughter."

"I don't need anyone, Vera. I don't undertsand how you fail to see that."

"You never had anyone. And finally, you had a daughter, the one person who might actually love you." she continued.

He pulled her hair harder but stayed silent. She struck a nerve and she knew it. Vera just hoped that she could hit all the right ones before he'd had enough.

"You're just bitter that you threw away that chance. You're bitter because even I hate you. You manipulated me when I was younger, but not anymore."

He stayed silent and motionless, his eyes darting to hers and away again. She'd struck another nerve. She hoped this would work.

"You have too much pride to even show anyone affection. Even if you did love me, you could never give up your pride enough to show it. Maybe that's where I got it from."

"You think I'm mad because you don't love me?" he growled, pulling her off the couch and towards the door.

She held back a whimper. All she wanted was tp burst into tears and break down on the spot, But she needd to win this battle. If she played her cards right, maybe she could have a chance to survive this. Maybe she could win the war.

He dragged her towards the door, and pulled her to her feet as they reached it. She held her head to try to lessen the pain that was pounding in her skull. He could pull really hard when he wanted to.

She wanted to strike one last nerve with him before they left his office. She hoped that it may be able to unfreeze his ice cold heart. She'd tried it before but it had never worked. But when again, she'd never done it under these circumstances. Maybe it would at least get him to think a little bit about what he had done.

"It may not be in the way you think," Vera started, carefully choosing her words. "But I _do _love you... _Dad..."_

She looked at his expression. His face didn't change but she could see, something in his eyes did. She couldn't really place what it was but she knew she had never seen it before, on anyone's face, let alone Jonathan's.

She changed him, made him think about something he didn't wqant to thnk about. Oh, what she'd do to get inside his head at that moment.

He put his hand on the doorknob and his blue eyes returned to their default state, cold, uncaring, and intimidating. Vera guessed it ran in her family, She could get like that too sometimes.

He opened the door and shoved her outside. Once he stepped out, he closed the door and locked it tight. Then, he held an ironlike grip on the upper arm. Since she was so short and he was so tall, her arm was yanked upwards.

Unfortunately, no one was around to see how he was treating her. And he would probably get away with it even if somebody did see, all he had to say was that she had tried to attack him and he was trying to keep her contained. Anyone in this asylum would believe him. It was his word against hers.

"Let's go. You're staying in maximum security." Jonathan said, dragging her along. His grip loosened considerably and he didn't drag her as rough as he normally would have. Vera wondered if her words might have affected that.

Well, maximum security is where the criminally insane stay at Smith's Grove. Anyone who was particularly dangerous or had an extensive criminal record was to stay there. Jonathan had checked her in and deemed her as dangerous enough for the maximum security level.

They had _cells _there. It was like Arkham. Like a prison. She was a prisoner. And she definitely felt like one.

Her heart dropped. She would have to think of something to get her out of there. She didn't know how she'd have to get herself out but she knew she'd do it

Finally, Jonathan arrived at Vera's_ cell. _The word disgusted her. She couldn't believe she was staying in one of these. It was disgusting.

Jonathan threw her in and locked it. He put the key in his pocket and walked away without even one glance back at her. He just locked his own daughter in a cell at an insane asylum. How could he just walk away like that? It wasn't right.

"Hey, kiddo." said a voice across the hall. "You wanna hear a riddle?"

Vera looked up from the ground. The bruises were already forming from when she landed on her knees being thrown into the cell.

"Nygma?" she asked.

"Edward Nygma aka The Riddler, at your service. What may I do for you, little lady? And if you don't me asking, how do you know me? Are you from Gotham?"

"Yeah, I am." she said, still in shock that another old friend was standing right in front of her.

"Dr. Crane harrassing you, too? I remember when he was alright. We used to be 'friends', you know." he chatted.

"Yeah, I know that." she said.

"How would you know that? No one did..." he asked, confused. It wasn't every day when the one and only Riddler was confused.

"I was there." she stated, waiting for it to pop in his head.

"How is that... Wait a minute... Let me get a good look at you, girlie..." he said, his voice faltering in confusuion.

She stepped to the front of her cell, small hands gripping the bars loosely. It hurt to realize that this was a reality. If chance wasn't on her side, then this is where she could die. Her father wouldn't keep her around too long after he gave her a dose of his fear toxin.

"Look at me." Edward stated, softly.

She lifted her blue eyes from the ground and looked into his green ones. He had beautiful eyes. Sometimes when she was little, after her dad hurt her, the most comforting in the world were his green eyes. They reminded her that not everyone had cold, blue, uncaring eyes, like her dad.

It was nice to feel that again.

Vera was comforted by that old feeling. She knew what it felt like to be looked at with pure hatred and it was nice to see his eyes again. She decided long ago that Edward Nygma had the nicest eyes in the world.

"Vera?" he asked in surprise as soon as she looked up at him.

"Yeah, it's me." she said. "Back from the dead."

He chuckled. "Nice to see you again, Vera."

"Nice to see you, too."

"You're father got a hold of you again?"

She nodded. "Unfortunately."

"How bad are the circumstances?" he asked, concerned.

She didn't answer, just looked down in the ground. She wondered how bad the circumtances really were.

"We need to get you out of here." Edward said, his eyes glowing with determination.

**A/N: So sorry I haven't updated. I have no excuses as to why I haven't updated other than that I'm lazy and I'm working really hard on dancing. It takes a lot of practice and my body is really sore. :(**

**But here is the next chapter, I hope you like it. :) I wasn't sure where this chapter would go (but then again, I never do. Ideas come to me as I write xD) but I think the direction is pretty good. I have the ending all planned out, not that it's coming really soon or anything. But I'm also contemplating doing a sequel... I'm doing a prequel to this story after it's done about Jonathan before Vera was born, but after that I might do a sequel that continues where this story leaves off. SO let me know wha you thinnk about that.**

** Until next time! :) Enjoy**

**Harley**

**Shoutouts:**

** IShouldBeInAStraightJacket**

** PsychoSweetHeart**

** ZenyZootSuit**

** Georgia Ann **


	21. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman, sadly :( But I do own a fuzzy unicorn. His name is Bob. Yesterday I yelled at him for having such a generic name.**

She'd done it. She'd thought of a way to get out of here. There was no way that this couldn't work. He was going to save her.

Edward Nygma was the one who gave her the idea. Not purposely, but it came from a conversation they were having earlier that day. Vera and Edward were having a random conversation, much like they usually did for the two weeks since she'd been there.

"Who would you call if you needed saving. It could be anyone in the world, dead or alive. Anyone at all." Edward asked her, sitting right near the bars that confined him to the cell.

Vera did the same and thought about it for a while. It was hard to think of someone at the moment. But she knew who she wanted help from. "Jason."

"Who's that?"

"My brother. Adopted brother."

"That's sweet." Edward smiled at her. He had a twinkle in his eyes and remembered his own brother. He was his best friend but aklways felt more like a brother.

"What about you?" Vera asked.

"Hmmm?"

"Who would you call if you needed help?"

Edward thought, long and hard for a little while. Who would he call if he could call anyone to save him? It took him a little while to think of the perfect answer, but he finally found it. It was a very beautiful and amazing answer.

"I would call... Chuck Norris."

They both burst out laughing. Vera looked around, the dark and dreary surroundings of the asylum. It was such an innapropriate place to laugh but here they both were. There were shouts of "Shut up!" from all around them. So they both shut up, barely containing their laughter.

"So... umm.. why Chuck Norris?" Vera asked. Tears runnning down her face from laughing so hard.

Edward was wiping tears from his face, too. "Why do you think it's Chuck Norris?"

"Because Chuck Norris is bad ass?"

"Exactly. If he were my protector, no one would fuck with me then."

"Not even Batman?"

"Well, kid, that may be a stretch."

Finally, that was when Vera got it. She had an idea that would get both of them out of there. It had to work, there was no way that it wouldn't. It had to work.

Of course, Vera couldn't tell Edward about her plan of getting them both out. He wouldn't let her risk herself to get him out of here. He'd rather she get out and he'd break himself out later. Well, too bad for him.

She just needed Bruce. He would save her. He'd get her out of this place. But she'd have to get edward out herself. Bruce wouldn't approve of that. He knew edward as the Riddler. There was no way he'd want to believe she was friends with him, let alone she wanted to break him out of an asylum.

But there was one thing that stood in her way. Jonathan. Her father was the one thing that could ruin this entire plan.

Jonathan had a grip hold on her ever since he found her in that house. Almost everything she did was monitored by him. However, he didn't know that she and Edward talked. But other than that, he knew everything. Her plan wouldn't work while she was in his hands. She needed to talk to another doctor or something like that.

Vera's plan had started to commence on that next Tuesday. All of the inmates were let out of their cells for lunch in the cafeteria. Vera sat down at a random table, not in the mood to eat. And sure enough, watching like a hawk in the corner, was her father. She never left his sight when she was out of her cell.

About halfway through lunch, Jonathan walked toward Vera. She knew he would "just happen to" walk by her, like he did everyday at this time. And she knew what she had to do when the time came.

He was almost right in front of her. Then he walked past. His back was facing her. And that's when Vera pounced.

Vera jumped onto his back, not skipping a beat and scratching at his face, aiming for his eyes. She could see the blood already on her hands as she scratched. She kicked his back and stomach from her position on his back, feeling every crack his bones made.

Jonathan yelled out in surprise as he felt someone jump on his, then screamed in pain as he felt the nails raking his face and at his eyes over and over again. He could taste the blood in his mouth as the pain grew more and more intense. He knew who it was. Vera.

As she assaulted him, all of the flashbacks of him hitting and kicking and stabbing her ran through her mind. It wasas if all the pain. All the anger, all the sadness were finally coming out as she attacked the man she called her father. It felt good. As far as she was concerned, they were even.

Jonathan could only think of his grandmother. It was like he was a child again, and he was at the mercy of his grabdmother again. He was beinng beaten, he was a sinner, and he could never redeem himself. He was a disgrace to her, an absolute disgrace.

She was always brutal, relentless. She beat him for breathing, she beat him for anything. There was nothing he could do to stop her. No matter what he did, no matter how good he was, he was always beaten to tears. He didn't know what to do or where to turn. There was no way he could escape.

But this wasn't his grandmother. It was his own daughter. And they were at an asylum. Security would get to them soon enough.

Vera teared at Jonathan's bleeding flesh and kicked his ribs in. The whole cafteria was silent and looked with interest. None of them liked Jonathan Crane. He was snotty, stuck up, and talked down at them. They were his subjects, they were expirimented on. It was nice to see him being beaten down for a change.

Jonathan dropped to his knees, dragging Vera down with him. His knees gave a loud _crunch_ as he hit the ground. Vera flew off of him and the guards werw there in a second.

A few of the guards dragged Vera, kicking and screaming away while they carried Jonathan out of the cafeteria for immediate medical attention. Vera got him pretty good.

Edward watched in shock as he watched what had just happened. Before Vera and Jonathan ;eft the room, something happened.

One by one, each of the inmates stood up. As soon as an innmate stood up, they clapped. All of the inmates were clapping for Vera as she was dragged away by guards. They spat at Jonathan as he was carried out through another exit.

Edward saw Vera smile before the door was closed behind her. "Kid's got guts..." he said to himself as he continued to eat.

Vera was secure in a straight jacket and put in a bland room with padded white walls. She was alone, but she knew that there was a doctor watching her with a camera outside the concealed door.

They told her Jonathan was going to a hospital, she had done a number on him. And he would stay there for at least a few more days.

Vera smiled. Phase one of her plan was complete.

**A/N: I have an idea for the prequel. :D This story will coming to an end in a little bit. I'm not sure when but it will be sooner rather than later if thinngs go as planned. I will be taking a little break after finishinng this story and uploading the prequel so I can focus on my other story, Bella, which also has Jonathan in it. **

** Hope you like it. I know what Vera's plan is but I have to fix some kinks in it. I hope you like this chapter. My laptop shut down on me when I was halfway done with this and deleted the entire thing. :( But I wrote this and now it's up so it's all good.**

** Until next time! :)**

** -harley**

** Shoutouts:**

** Rorschach In Blue Jeans**

** IShouldBeInAStraightJacket**

** ZenyZootSuit**

** ZabuzasGirl**

** Thanks for reviewing! :)**


	22. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman. But I so totally own Jonathan Crane, whether he likes it or not. However, in reality, I don't own him because if I did, bad things would happen.**

It had been a few days since the cafeteria incident. Vera was still in the padded white room wearing a straightjacket. She hadn't moved since she was put in there. She was hungry and she really wanted to go to the bathroom.

Today was the day Jonathan would come back to the asylum. She had heard some of the doctors talking about it through the speakers. They left them on purposely so she could hear them through the walls.

If Vera didn't act fast, the plan would be a bust. She just needed to talk to a doctor other than her father and she could do this. She knew she could if the situation worked to her advantage. And she knew just how to tip that scale in her favor.

"Somebody! Help!" she screamed all of a sudden.

It felt strange and almost painful to speak. She hadn't talked to anyone in days. Her vocal chords felt slightly rusty from not saying anything for so long. And she felt like she would go insane at any moment. Vera had been left to her thoughts for so long and all she needed to do was get out. Out of this room, out of this asylum, out of her mind.

"Doctor! Doctor!" she screamed again, she knew that they could hear her.

Someone said through the speakers, "What is it that you need?"

"I need to talk to my daddy!" she said, pathetically. "I want to get a phone call."

"We can allow that." the person said and the door flung open.

Guards led her out of the room and down the hall. They made a few turns before coming to a room. At the far side of the room there was a chair. Hung next to it on the wall was a phone. Her last hope..

They led her over to the chair and sat her down in it. They helped her out of the confinements of her straightjacket and she sat down in the chair quietly, not really wanting these strange men to touch her.

"We'll let you have some privacy." one of the guards said, leading the other two slowly out of the room.

The last guard turned around right before closing the door. "I don't know what you've gone through, but it'll be okay, kiddo." he smiled at her softly.

Vera smiled back and nodded at him. "Thank you."

"Blake. John Blake."

"Vera Wayne."

He smiled again and closed the door quietly. Hope flared in her chest. That little bit of reassurance was all she needed to be inspired again. To know that she could do this, to know that everything would indeed be all right.

There was a clear wall that divided the room inn two. The wall was soundproof to give whoever was on the phone privacy. But Vera could see two doctors there, trying to look nonchalant, like they weren't there to keep an eye on her.

Vera picked up the phone with shaky hands and got ready to dial the numbers. She had only a small amount of time. It wasn't too long before Jonathan would come back to the asylum from the hospital to try to make her life hell again. She needed to be fast.

Dialing the phone quickly, she held the phone to her ear, awaiting an answer.

"Hello?" Bruce said through the phone. Vera almost cried with joy at hearing his voice. It was the nicest thing she'd heard in a while.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed.

"Vera, is that you?" he asked, amazed.

"Yeah, it is. I'm trapped at Smiths Grove." she said. "My dad found me and brought me here. I can't get out of here on my own."

"It's okay, baby girl. I'll come and get you out of there as soon as I can. I'm gonna take you home okay?" he said frantically.

"My dad is Jonathan Crane." Vera said slowly, making sure every word had sunk into Bruce's head. "The Scarecrow."

"I'm on my way. I'll make sure you get away from him. It'll be okay."

"Can you bring bobby pins?" she asked before he hung up.

"Sure, anything. I'm on my way. You'll be safe soon. You'll be home." Bruce told her.

Vera looked up suddenly. There in the room with the two other doctors keeping an eye on her and she gasped.

There, giving her an ice death there, was the one and only, Jonathan Crane. He'd come back, and he knew about her phone call. He knew what she had done. Hopefully, it was too late for him to do anything.

"I love you, Vera." Bruce said over the phone.

Without taking her eyes off Jonathan, Vera replied. "I love you, too, Daddy."

He hung up and so did she. She walked out of the room and out the door. In an instant, Jonathan was on her, roughly dragging her by the arm.

"Let go!" she complained, trying to shake him off her, to no avail.

"You think you can outsmart me?" Jonathan growled. "You think you can escape?"

They got to his office and he threw her in, stepping inside and shutting the door. The lock on the door clicking shut pounded n her ears, making it difficult to hear. Fear coursed through her and she could barely breathe. It felt like someone was sitting on her chest.

He pulled her hair, stretching her scalp and forcing her to look up at him. "The toxin is ready for you. I was going to wait, but you've really given me no choice."

His malicious grin scared her. And she knew that if Bruce couldn't save her, then no one could.

**A/N: Ta da! That was fun to write.**

** I'm going to be honest, I can't wait for this story to end. Not that I don't enjoy writing it. It's just that I want to see how it turns out. I have an ending all planned out. It should be fun and most of you are going to HATE me but I'm going with it. The ending is drawing closer and closer...**

** Until next time! :)**

** -Harley**

** Shout Outs:**

** xxyangxx2006**

** XxxKitKatxxX**

** ZenyZootSuit**

** IShouldBeInAStraightJacket**


	23. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman :(**

"You think he'll find you?" Jonathan sneered as he threw Vera to the ground. "You think he'll help you escape before I poison you with my toxin."

Jonathan slowly walked over to his desk and opened drawer. He pulled out his mask. Vera recognized it immediately.

"You would do that to your own daughter?" Vera asked, her voice shaking in fear. If she managed to make it out of this situation alive, she knew she couldn't get out without being infected with his toxin.

"Well, I assumed it was obvious, yes." he answered, sarcastically.

He quickly walked over to her, his movements short and erratic, completely the opposite of what he usually acted like. His mind was on overdrive and it was visible. It was only a matter of time before Bruce got to them. He couldn't stop Bruce from taking Vera home with him, but he wouldn't let her leave unharmed.

"Would you like to see my mask again, my dear?" the Scarecrow asked, his voice changing dramatically from serious to icy, uncaring, and amused.

"No..." Vera whispered, more to herself than to him.

He pressed a button on his wrist and the toxin flowed freely from it, clouding the entire room quickly. The gas was thick and Crane stifled a small cough, even though his mask was altered to act as a gas mask too.

Vera fell to the floor, gasping and coughing as the toxin attacked her lungs. She couldn't breathe. Her eyes felt like they were glued shut. All she could feel was deadly compound of adrenaline and fear in her veins. She felt like she could explode at any moment.

She could faintly hear her own screams as she writhed on the floor. As soon as she could open her eyes, her screams grew louder. There was Dick, Jason, Tim, and Bruce laying on the floor before her, a bloody heap. There was blood covering the walls, guts were spread all over the walls. The bodies were cut in several visible places.

It was horrible. They were all dead, all of them. Jason already was dead but it didn't change the fact that she was always afraid of him dying before he died. But Bruce, Tim, and Dick... There was no way, they couldn't be dead.

The bodies morphed to Harley, the Joker, and Ivy. Their entire family was dead. Then there was Harvey, Edward, Poison Ivy, everybody she'd known in the Rogues gallery. She screamed and the tears began to flow freely down her cheeks.

There was Violet, dead, cut open. Vera cried even harder. Her best friend, her best friend.

Heather appeared after that. Even though she'd only known her for a little while, she really considered this girl her friend.

All of the bodies then vanished from the room. Her father stood there in the corner of the room, opening the door of the closet. Out came Heather and Violet. Violet's hands were tied and her mouth was gagged. Heather draped herself over the Scarecrow's arm, her gaze loving. It was sickening to watch.

Vera knew that all the dead bodies were just an illusion, but these people were real. The hallucination effect of the toxin had worn off, but she was still rattled with fear. It was painful and hard to breathe. Her jaw hurt from screaming and she knew she needed to get Violet and Heather out of here.

Slowly, Vera stood up, shakily. But soon fell back to the floor, too weak to stand up. The Scarecrow laughed at her vulnerability and pulled her by her hair, kicking in her ribs once again. Heather just stared at the Scarecrow lovingly, seemingly oblivious to the girl on the ground and her own cousin who was tied tied up in the corner.

Bruce rushed through the front doors of the asylum and straight past the front desk. He was a man on a mission and nothing could stop him from completing it.

"Sir! Sir!" the receptionist called after him.

Bruce ignored her, knowing exactly where to head. Crane's office.

His walk turned into a run as he ran as fast as he could to get there. No matter how fast he was, it didn't seem fast enough, there was only one goal. Get Vera.

He finally found a plain brown door at the end of an isolated hall labeled Dr. Crane. He pushed through it, the door breaking off of it's hinges. There was no way anything could stop him now. He would save her no matter what it took.

"Vera!" he cried as he saw the Scarecrow in action. He rushed the smaller man and punched him across the face, causing the man to drop Vera. Heather was flung to the ground as a result.

Bruce noticed Violet in the corner, vulnerable and bound. Anger rose up in him. Seeing Vera on the ground, hurt, made the rage in hm flow freely.

"What is wrong with you?" Bruce screamed, throwing punch after punch at Crane, who's mask had fallen off. He was paralyzed unable to move.

Vera ran to the corner to free Violet of the ropes binding her. Heather tried to prevent her from doing so. Crane had told her to do anything in her power to keep Violet and Vera in that room, no matter what to took for her to do so.

"I'm sorry, Heather." Vera apologized and bashed her head against the ground, rendering Heather unconscious.

With Heather out of the way, Vera could help Violet. After getting a bunch of knots undone, Violet was finally free. They ran out of the door, calling for Bruce as they ran.

"Bruce!" Vera screamed. "Come on, Bruce!"

Bruce looked over and dropped Crane's body to the ground. Vera could see that he wasn't dead, just unconscious.

"Let's go!" Vera said, leading Bruce and Violet through the asylum.

She had lead them straight through the maximum security ward. Vera took one of the bobby pins that Bruce had thrown to her in the office. She threw it into Edward's cell as she passed it.

Bruce and Violet didn't notice. Neither did the other inmates. But Edward did. And he knew exactly what it was for.

Vera looked back at him, a twinkle in her eye and a small nod of her head. He returned it with a smile and a nod. They both knew that this would not be the last time they saw each other.

Eddie was grateful for the huge favor Vera had done her. She truly would do anything for her family and friends. And he was no exception.

The three finally reached the doors of the asylum and flew put of them, straight to Bruce's Ferrari. Bruce started the engine as Violet and Vera jumped in and buckled up. The pulled out of the parking lot and onto the highway, flying down the road.

Vera looked back at Smith's Grove Asylum, hoping to never have to visit that place again.

**A/N: Getting closer and closer to the end. I have an idea for a sequel but I will be taking a little break to finish my other story, Bella, and to maybe write another story. It should be fun :)**

** Hope you like it. I'm trying to tie up some loose ends. The conclusion is drawing closer. I'm so excited about it.**

** Until next time! :)**

** -Harley**

** Shoutouts:**

** Marina-is-the-Diamond**

** Jordan Lynn 7**

** ZenyZootSuit**


	24. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer:I do not own Batman.**

"Vera." Bruce gently shook her awake from her dreams. "We're home."

They had just pulled up the driveway of te huge mansion. Dick and Tim were waiting on the front steps, looking worried. Bruce had rushed around, leaving with no explanation. And they couldn't even see Vera from where they were standing.

"Bruce!" Dick yelled to the car. "Are you okay?"

"One second!" he called back. Then he turned back to Vera. "C'mon, Vera. We're back at Wayne Manor."

"Carry me?" she asked, lazily still half asleep. She put her arms up towards Bruce.

He rolled his eyes but easily picked her up, her weight was like nothing to her. They started off towards the house. "Let's get you inside."

Dick and Tim had retreated inside a few minutes before. They were sitting at the kitchen table when Bruce and Vera walked in. Tears sprang to Vera's eyes as she saw the faces of her brothers.

"Vera?" Tim asked, his voice lined with an emotion no one but him understood. It was rage. No one knew just how angry he was at Vera but himself.

"Is it really you?" Dick asked, incredulously.

"It's me." Vera smiled.

Bruce put her down gently, so she was standing on her own two feet. Dick immediately rushed over, taking his sister in his arms.

"Have you any idea how much I missed you?" he asked, his voice becoming thick as he attempted to stay calm.

"I missed you, too." Vera said, not hiding her tears at all.

Before no time, Dick's shirt was stained with tears. He was struggling to keep his composure while Vera cried into his chest. This was his sister, she had gone missing. He had no idea where he was. But he had been so worried. It seemed that all hope was lost on her case.

But here she was, safe and sound, or so he thought. He had no idea what she had gone through. He had no idea what had happened to her.

Dick looked up at Bruce. Bruce mouthed to him, "I'll tell you later." Dick nodded in response. He could barely wait to find out what happened, he needed to know.

Tim and Bruce walked out of the room, Bruce going to the living room, Tim going up to his room. He would have a little talk with her once they were alone.

"Dick?" Vera asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking back down at her.

She could see his eyes full of tears. They began to fall across his face and over his cheeks. She could practically see all the worry and hurt and pain pouring out of him with the tears. It was as if all of those negative feelings he had just disappeared.

"I love you." she said, the words she hadn't said in a long time. Too long, perhaps, in her mind. It still felt natural, even after the long while she hadn't said it.

"I love you, too." he said, hugging her tighter.

They stood there for a little longer, finally happy to see each other then. But Vera's eyes began to grow heavy. She was extremely exhausted from all the things that had happened to her. It seemed like so long ago, years maybe, but it hadn't been that long at all.

"I'm tired..." she said. "I'm going to head to bed. We can talk in the morning, okay?"

"Okay. Let's get you to bed then. Goodnight."

"Night. Love you, big bro." she said, smiling and rubbing her eyes.

"Love you too, sis," he said, grinning.

Vera left the kitchen and walked into the living room, where Bruce was watching the football game that was on the television. He looked up abruptly as Vera sat down next to him.

She leaped on him, engulfing him in a tight hug.

"Thank you for saving me." she said against his shoulder.

He hugged her back tightly. "No problem. That's what dads are for."

"You're the best dad I could ever ask for." she said, meaning ever word.

Bruce's eyes filled up with tears. She'd never said that to him. He yearned to hear it, but she'd never said it. And now she had.

"You're the best daughter I could ever ask for." he answered. After a long pause, he said, "You should get some sleep."

"Yeah, I guess I should." she said, looking down. "Goodnight, Dad. I love you."

"Love you, too. Goodnight." he said and watched her ascend up the stairs.

Vera entered her room. She looked around, nothing had been touched. Her posters, her CD's. Everything was the same. The clothes on the floor hadn't been touched. Even her bed was the same way she left it, messy and unkempt.

She felt comfortable that Alfred hadn't cleaned it. The messiness almost made it feel like she had never left. Alfred must have known, had faith that she would come back. And he'd known her well enough that she needed it to be like this to feel completely at home.

Quickly, she went to her bathroom and changed into a tank top and sweat pants. She brushed her teeth and for a little while, just stood in the bathroom, brushing her messy hair. It was calming in a way, in a strange way. Vera would never have thought that it would have this kind of effect on her.

Finally, she put her brush down and climbed into bed, restng her head down on her pillow. In a second, she was asleep. There wasn't anything in her head, no nightmares, no dreams. It was all blank. And she a;ways preferred it like this.

Tim watched her from a crack in the doorway, narrowing his eyes at her. He couldn't wait to talk with her in the morning.

**A/N: Second chapter today. Reuniting with the family! :) Cute, huh?**

** I was going to put her interactions with Tim in this but I kind of wanted to have a semi happy chapter. We'll get into the dark stuff a little later.**

** I might post another chapter today, but I don't know if I'll have time. If not, I'll probably post it tomorrow. :)**

** By the way, has anyone seen Cillian's movie, Sunshine? I just watched it twice and I really like it, even though I'm still trying to make sense of it. :)**

** Until next time! Hope you enjoyed. **

** -Harley**

** Shoutouts:**

** ZenyZootSuit**

** Rorschach In Blue Jeans**


	25. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I don't own Batman or Tim Drake's anger. **

"Vera, get the fuck up." Tim barked. "We need to talk."

Vera slowly opened her eyes, rubbing them as she sat up in her bed. At the end of it was Tim, and she could tell he was not in a very good mood.

"Sure, what's up?" Vera said, yawning, her voice still deep with sleep.

"What's up?" Tim asked, angry. "What's up? Is that all you have to say to me?"

"I'm sorry, did I miss something?"

"You disappeared for weeks on end, suddenly, with no explanation!" Tim barked. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Well if an explanation is what you want, then let me explain right now." Vera said, confused. She didn't understand why Tim was so mad.

Well, he did have a point. She did run off. But she was back and tat was what mattered right? Why was he still mad?

"Bruce already told us everything last night. Why didn't you tell us that monster was your father? We could have protected you."

"I'm sorry, I thought I could handle it." Vera said, looking down at her hands. So that was why he was mad.

"I know what you did." Tim said after a pause.

"What are you talking about?" Vera asked.

"You fucking monster. You're no better than you're father." he said, disgust evident in his tone. He would never forgive her for what she did. She was a disgrace. It was in her genes.

"What did I do?" Vera asked again, panicking at the thought. She didn't know what she could have done to have made Tim say that to her.

She could feel the tear in her heart at the words. If anyone said that to her, it would hurt. But this was coming from her own brother and that made it a hundred times worse.

"You killed Carmine Falcone."

Vera whipped her head up to look at him. "What did you say?"

"You killed Carmine Falcone." Tim repeated.

"How did you know about that?" she asked.

"I watched you." he said. "It was terrible, you were like an animal. You were like _him."_

"I am nothing like him!" Vera yelled.

"Shut up! They'll hear." Tim covered her mouth. "You were exactly like him, drunk with power. Using fear to control your victims, to consume them."

Vera gasped in horror. He was right. She was like him. She used the same methods he did, just without fear toxin. It ran in her blood. She was a monster.

"You know I'm right."

"But I don't want you to be." Vera sobbed. "I don't want to be like him. He's horrible. I never want to be anything close to that."

"Well, there's nothing you can do to reverse it." Tim told her. "I've seen things like this happen before. You're mind will be molded by it. You'll go insane and then you'll end up just like him."

"But I could stop it. I won't become like him." Vera said.

"You can't prevent it, it's inevitable."

"I will NOT be like my father, I promise you that." Vera said, desperately trying to console herself. It was only a matter of time before she broke down completely. The toxin's effects hadn't fully worn off yet.

"It's already happening. You were destined to be like him, destined to kill like he did. You're already a monster. A sick, sick monster." Tim said, looking at her with hate.

"Is there any way...?" Vera asked, looking at him hopefully.

"Even if there is, I'm not helping you. The damage is done. I will never forgive you." Tim said. And with that he left the room, leaving Vera on the bed to cry all by herself.

She turned her television on to try to distract herself from anything that was currently going on in her life. It was a mess, pure hell and she just wanted a distraction, even for just a half hour.

The television turned on with a flash and the news came on. Vera usually never watched the news but she had probably missed a lot of what had happened in Gotham lately. Maybe it was time for her to catch up.

"Edward Nygma AKA, the Riddler, has escaped from Smith's Grove Asylum. The only thing left in his cell was a bobby pin which he presumably used to pick the lock and escape from the asylum." the newscaster said, dully.

Vera bolted up straight after hearing that. She smiled. So he had gotten out. Now she just needed to know if he had gotten out safely.

"His whereabouts are unknown, but we are hoping that a certain Caped Crusader will find him and put him back where he belongs."

_Well that answers my question, _Vera said, smiling wider. She was glad to hear that he was free from that wretched place.

She had no doubt that Bruce would find him and recapture him again but it was better to have limited freedom than none at all. She hoped he would make good use of the short time he had out of custody.

"Dr. Crane had been found, unconscious and badly beaten in his office shortly after Nygma had escaped. Dr. Crane cannot recall what had happened in the past few hours. But he will be fine." the newscaster said, sounding even more bored than she did at the beginning. "Back to you, Robert and Gladys."

"Well, we wish Dr. Crane a speedy recovery." Robert said, a solemn look on his face.

_How could these people be so oblivious? _Vera thought.

They were talking about the same man who had gassed the city, brought Gotham to her knees with fear. This was the same man who wreaked havoc for his own personal gain and obsession with fear. Then a thought occurred to her.

_They don't know. _Vera concluded. _They don't know it was him. They just know him as the Scarecrow. They know his mask, not him._

The people certainly remember being gassed, but they have no clue who was behind the whole operation. Bruce had said that the case was supposed to be low key, kept mostly from the eye of the public. But she didn't know that it meant nobody had known about it.

Washing her worry away, she decided to go back to sleep, just for a little while. It would be a little bit before anything happened. The main news was over, there was nothing going on around the house, everyone was sleeping. She took advantage of it.

After sleeping for a little while, Vera woke up to some sort of commotion. She looked around, not sure of where it came from. Then, she realized that it was the television.

"Gotham is being attacked! Gotham is under attack!" the news anchors were all running around screaming.

"The city is being filled with the toxin that appears to be the same as the toxin that flooded our streets a little while ago!" a news anchor yelled.

"The Scarecrow has returned to Gotham!"

**A/N: Oh no... Trouble has started. Can Vera be rid of the infamous Scarecrow? Can she at least rid everyone else of him? **

** So once again, this story is coming to a close. I predict, 2-3 more chapters but I'm not sure. I will be working on a sequel in a little bit after a short break. I need to finish my other story and maybe work on some new stories.**

** I haven't decided whether or not I'm posting the sequel or the prequel first. I have an idea for the sequel but not the full storyline, I have most of the storyline figured out for the prequel. I was going to post the prequel first, but I think it might be more appropriate to post the sequel first.**

** I'll be writing as fast as I can to finish this story. I always have that fear that I'm going to abandon a story and it has happened in the past. I won't abandon this one but I'm kind of afraid that I might still. I won't though.**

** Kisses!**

** -Harley**

** Shoutouts:**

** the-daydreamer17 **


	26. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman sadly. :(**

"No, no, no, no, no." Vera said, jumping out of bed and flying down the long staircase downstairs to the library.

She knew Bruce would be down there, with Dick and Tim. They'd be getting ready to find him and Edward. But they needed to stop Jonathan first. He was the bigger threat at the moment. Edward could wait.

She knew they were going to suit up and then be on their way, leaving her here defenseless. They never knew how much it scared her to be home by herself, especially in a city like Gotham where crime ran a muck the streets.

She knew that they'd do their best to protect her and the city to the best of their ability. But she didn't exactly have training in defending herself, it was always on a whim or split second thinking. One day, that won't work and she'll be screwed.

Pressing the right piano keys, Vera ran down the hallway that opened up behind the bookcase. She kept running until she reached the lit room where Tim, Dick, and Bruce were.

Sure enough, they were in the middle of suiting up for battle. Now they weren't Tim, Dick, and Bruce. They were Robin, Nightwing, and Batman. The city's saviours.

"Vera, what are you doing here?" Nightwing asked.

"I heard... On the news... He's here, he's in Gotham... He's gonna find me..." Vera said, breathless.

Nightwing ran over and hugged her against him. "He won't find you... We're going to stop him as soon as we can."

"What if you guys aren't fast enough?" Vera whispered.

"He won't hurt you, we won't let him." Batman spoke up from the corner.

Robin stayed silent in the corner. Vera knew that he wouldn't say anything. He was too angry and disgusted with her. Nightwing and Batman would make an effort to protect her, but Robin would fight purely for his city. As far as he was concerned, he didn't have a sister anymore. She was dead to him and it would be that way forever.

"Be careful, you guys." Vera said.

"We always are." Nightwing said lightheartedly.

Batman and Robin had already gotten into the Tumbler, ready to rock. Nightwing stayed with Vera for a few minutes, reassuring her that everything would be okay.

"Nightwing! We need to go!" Batman called from the front seat.

"Bye." he said.

"Bye." Vera hugged him and let him go to the car.

She waved them off as they left the cave. There was no way that everything would be okay. She knew that for sure as soon as they pulled out. Sometimes there were times when you need to follow your gut. But she knew that this was one of those times.

"I am so screwed." Vera said, walking slowly back to the house.

Her back was hunched over as her feet shuffled on the floor, not wanting to even do anything at the moment. She just wished that none of this had ever happened.

She wished that Bruce was her real dad, that she was in no way related to Jonathan Crane. She and Bruce could live happily ever after as father and daughter without having to worry about anyone else coming into the picture.

Dick and Tim would be her biological brothers. They could never have to compete for Bruce's attention like they sometimes did now. Since he wasn't their real dad, they felt they had to strive fir his love. They thought it was conditional, because he wasn't their real dad.

Jason would be her brother, too, her best friend like he always was. He would still be alive, he'd still be here. He'd be her real brother and death would be far from anyone's mind. It would be the last thing they had to worry about.

At this point, it wasn't even about protecting herself from Jonathan. It was about protecting everyone else, too. He was ruthless, corrupted. No one was safe from him. Everyone was in danger. He would do anything to get his way.

It was up to her to prevent him from getting it.

He would hurt anyone he needed to to get his way. He had no compassion to sympathize with these people. He was cruel, cold-hearted, and terrible. He needed to be stopped.

"Hello, my dear." a husky voice whispered in her ear.

"What are you doing here?" Vera asked as she whipped her head around to fully face him.

Edward really had gotten him good. She knew Bruce did some damage but it was nowhere near as bad as what Edward had done. He'd done a number on him. Jonathan was covered in cuts and bruises, he looked terrible.

"You really make it easy for me to find you." he sneered. "It's like you want to be found."

"You have nothing. Nothing! There's nothing you can do to me now." Vera smiled.

Slowly, he pulled out a knife and it was already covered in blood.

**A/N: The next chapter shall be the last one. The very last one. I hope you all love it. You'll probably hate me for ending it like this but there was no way I could resist. I've had this part planned out from the beginning. **

** Hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's short but I'm just getting ready for the last chapter. It'll be hard to say goodbye to it, but I think it's time that I ended it and started new things.**

** Kisses! **

** -Harley**

** Shoutouts: **

** Unquestionably Unhinged**


	27. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I do not own Batman.**

"Give it up, my child. This is the end." Jonathan sneered. "You and I both know it."

"You won't do it. You don't have it in you." Vera retorted quickly.

She knew it was a lie. Killing her would be nothing to him, absolutely nothing. There was nothing he wouldn[t do. And she wouldn't put murder past him. Granted, this was his own daughter. But that would hardly stop him.

"I would. And I will. But not yet. It has to be slow." Jonathan said, his cold eyes turning full force on her.

"You know, I loved you. And I never understood why you couldn't love me." she said.

"You never did anything to ear my love. And you didn't deserve it."

"You never earned my love either, but I still gave it to you, no matter how unwilling you were to have it. I thought that maybe, there was hope."

"Hope for what? Hope doesn't exist. It's an illusion."

"Hope that you would love me back."

There was an awkward pause. She could see the gears turning in Jonathan's head, trying to comprehend what his daughter had said. She hoped it would have an effect on him. If she aid the right things, maybe he would let her live.

"You know what?" she questioned. "I still love you."

Jonathan's face remained emotionless, there was nothing there. No reaction, no change in posture, facial expression. It was like he was frozen. That moment was frozen. Neither of them could move and neither knew what to say.

Then, he lunged,

The knife point was aimed directly at her head, ready to slash and cut. The blood on the tip was crystal clear as Vera moved out of the way. It was like time had slowed down for a moment. And thank God it did or she would be dead.

Vera got up and ran throughout the house. Jonathan pursued her, on her tail. They ran through a lot of different rooms. Jonathan never got quite close enough to catch her, but if he had good enough aim, he would have thrown the knife straight into her back.

They ran through the kitchen. Vera threw a chair behind her, making Jonathan trip over it. Delaying him and giving her a little more time to run.

She ran into the front hallway and screamed at the sight that awaited her. There was Alfred, blood soaking through his clothes. There was a pool of it all around him. She could see that his throat was cut.

At that point, Jonathan had run into the room, but kept his distance. Neither moved, neither spoke, neither breathed. All was still.

"I'm done running from you." Vera growled, her voice like an animal.

All this time she had been satisfied with running from him. She could get away and rest up until he found her again and then she'd run until he lost her again. It was a continuous cycle, and Vera had always been content with it.

But not anymore. This had taken it too far Killing a friend, and practical family member. Nothing could ever make up fir that.

She would stand up and she would fight him. For Alfred. For herself. And for anyone else that he had hurt. This was quite over the line.

Then it was her that lunged at him. He swung the knife at her but she caught it in her hand, screaming out in pain as the blood poured out.

"Finally ready to fight, my dear?" he teased.

"Hell yeah I am." she said darkly.

It was like a dance, sparring partners. It seemed choreographed, every move perfectly synchronized by the others movements. It was like stage fighting, but this was for real. This was real. It was a matter of life and death.

If you watched them, it would be in awe at the beautifully synched movements of father and daughter. It didn't seem dangerous, but it was. There was nothing more dangerous.

Jonathan threw Vera to the floor. Vera grabbed his ankle, dragging him back down with her. He fell to the ground with a sickening thump. Vera smiled, satisfied with the groan that escaped his lips at the contact.

She'd lost focus for a split second. The one thing that lead to her downfall. For a split second, she'd lost focus. And Jonathan had taken advantage of it.

He got her. He finally got her.

He took the knife and sliced it straight through her, impaling her in the chest.

Vera screamed, the most pain she'd felt in her entire life. It was a searing pain, unlike any she'd felt before. There was nothing like it.

It's a fire raging in her chest, deeper than words can describe. She coughed, blood soaking the floor and her clothes. It hurt. Her bones rattled, bits and pieces breaking off. The blade was straight through her ribs.

Jonathan smiled. It was impossible to live through that. It was fatal and no one would be around in time to save her.

He rolled over on his side to get up. Vera watched him incredulously. He just stabbed his own daughter in the back and was going to simply walk away, just leave her there to die right there in her own house.

Vera reached behind her back her back to grab the hilt of the knife. She yanked hard and ripped the blade from her body. A scream tore from her throat but Jonathan just stayed where he was and never even looked her way.

She griped the knife tightly in her hand, ready to get revenge on her father. She wasn't dead yet, but she would be soon. The blood was steadily pouring from her wound. She would bleed out soon, her veins would run dry, and she would finally be dead.

_It's too late to save myself, but it doesn;;t mean I can;t save everybody else. _Vera thought.

Then, with a moan of pain, she lunged, plunging the blade into Jonathan's back, the same place he had gotten her.

He cried out, in pain and surprise. It was hard to comprehend but he knew in that split second, he was destined to die, right beside his daughter. He was going to suffer the same fate as her.

And in a flash, the pain, the surprise was gone. His chest swelled with pride. She had finally done it. She had proven to him that she was extraordinary, worthy of his love. She had done something that only he had the guts to do.

She could see it, the way his face changed, she could see the pride in his eyes. He fell over onto his back and she crawled over to lay her head on his chest.

"Don't you love me?" she asked.

He nodded, his breathing labored. "Yes, I love you, Vera."

"I love you, too, Daddy."

They lay there together, bleeding and dying together, finally seeing eye to eye as father and daughter in their dying moments. No one else mattered at that moment. It was just them.

Vera was the first to go. She faded away slowly, her eyes losing focus. Her breathing quickened, then began to slow. They both knew that it was her time. She was going to leave this life, finally at peace.

She gasped in her last breath and Jonathan watched in wonder. She coughed and sputtered violently, blood spewing everywhere. Then she went deadly still and was gone.

Vera Crane was no more, gone from life as death stole her soul. She was gone, absolutely gone.

Jonathan was surprised that he felt a wave of sadness. A single tear rolled down his face. His breathing was calm, he felt his heartbeat began to slow.

Then, Jonathan Crane was no more.

**A/N: The epic conclusion of Don't You Love Me? I'm pretty satisfied with it. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. In a good way. I'll miss this story, but it will be back as a sequel, and a prequel, so you're not rid of it yet.**

** Thank you for staying on this journey with me. It has been wonderful to write this story and thankful to my faithful reviewers. They have all put a smile on my face.**

** It's not a goodbye, merely a see you later. Okay, I'm signing out. :) (If you know where that last part is from, you get brownie points) **

** -Harley**

** Shoutouts:**

** Rorschach In Blue Jeans (I'm pretty sure I forgot to put you in in one of the past chapters. Sorry about that. :P)**

** ZenyZootSuit **

** xxyangxx2006**

** Jordan Lynn 7**


End file.
